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THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA 


Collected under the Auspices of the 
Carnegie Institution of Washington 


BY 
GEORGE A. DORSEY 
Curator of Anthropology, Field Columbian Museum 





WASHINGTON, D. C.: > 
Published by the Carnegie Institution of Washington ™ 
1904 






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! 
CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON 
Publication No. 21 
| SS oy ey, PRESS oF e) 
i re ; THE HENRY E. WILKENS PRINTING co. 
2 Ue ee a ea a Aistte Nes san ate One WASHINGTON, Dice bad 





*e 


PREFACE. 


This collection of Wichita myths is largely the result of investiga- 
tions begun in 1903, under a grant from the Carnegie Institution of 
Washington. In 1900 I began work of this nature for the Field 
Columbian Museum, and continued it interruptedly for three years. 
Throughout the three years I used as interpreter Burgess Hunt, a well- 
educated Wichita of full blood. For assistance in the final arrange- 
ment of the myths, and especially for a large part of the information 
embodied in the introduction, I am indebted to the well-known chief of 
the Wichita Towakoni Jim. To his great knowledge, always freely 
given, and for his unfailing kindness it is a pleasure to acknowledge 
my indebtedness. | 

Inasmuch as the present work forms but a part of my investiga- 
tions among the tribes of the Caddoan stock, I have deferred until a 
later publication references to tales of a similar nature of other tribes, 
while in the “Introduction” I have confined myself to such matter as 
would assist in understanding the references made in the tales to the 
customs and beliefs of the Wichita. The music accompanying certain 
myths has been transcribed by Mr. Frederic R. Burton, who is also 


responsible for the comments made on the songs. 


Grorcre A. Dorsry. 
Firip CoLuMBIAN MusEuUM, 
CHIcaco, October 1, 1904. 





Se fatto ta Tear Cone cone HEY BN Ch Cae Se Cee er dl Chr or oe gine 
er eee 


fae eee Ss GNSS, oN 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction 


FIRST PERIOD: CREATION. 
The First Creation . 


SECOND PERIOD: TRANSFORMATION. 


The Deeds of the Coyote and Young-Star 
The.Coyote and His Magic Shield and Arrows 
The Coyote and His Magic Shield and Arrows 
The Great-South-Star, the Protector of Warriors 
The Great-South-Star, the Protector of Warriors 
The Great-South-Star, the Protector of Warriors 
The Seven Brothers and the Woman 

The Seven Brothers and the Sister . 

The Seven Brothers and the Sister .. 
Owner-of-Black-and-White-Flint-Knives and ic Son 
The Deeds of After-Birth-Boy 
The Thunderbird and the Water- eee 
The Deeds of Wets-the-Bed 
The Deeds of Wets-the-Bed 
The Thunderbird-Woman 
Healthy-Flint-Stone-Man and Westar: Tiavane: Powers: -in- ihe: ieee 
The Hawk and His Four Dogs 
The Story of Child-of-a-Dog 
The Old-Age-Dog Who Rescued rae Chief's Pia 
The Old-Age-Dog Who Rescued the Chief’s Son 
Young-Boy-Chief Who Became an Otter 
Young-Boy-Chief Who Became an Otter 
The Man Who Became a Flamingo . 

The Spiders Who Recovered the Chief's Ser aaen 
The Origin of the Eagles 

The ‘Coyote and the Buffalo : 

Half-a-Boy Who Overcame the Siler 
Young-Boy-Chief Who Married a Buffalo 

The Swift-Hawks and Shadow-of-the-Sun 

The Swift-Hawks and Shadow-of-the-Sun 
Young-Boy-Chief and His Sister 

The Story of Not-Know-Who-You-Are . ; 
Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer Who Overcame the Elk : 
Trouble Among the Chief’s Children 

The Turtle’s War-Party 

The Turtle’s War-Party 

Little-Crow Who Became a i atrera Pibicn 


Page. 


25 


CONTENTS. 


The Little-Brown-Hawks : 

The Coyote Who Lost His Powers 

The Boy Who Led War-Parties and Butane! a ee 
The Coyote and the Warrior 7, ile aie aes 
The End of the Trickster-Cheater 

The Coyote, the Prairie- Turtle, and the SHRI 

The Coyote, the Rabbit, and the Scalped-Man 

The Coyote and the Skunk Who Inaugurated the Feast 
The Coyote Who Became a Buffalo . 

The Coyote and the Artichoke 

The Coyote and the Wild-Cat 

The Coyote, the Opossum, and the Crow 

The Coyote and the Fish-Hawk 

The Coyote and the Bear : 

The Coyote and the Smallest Snake . 

The Coyote and the Turkey 

Tihe Deluge and the Repeopling of tive Hatth’” 

The Deluge and the Repeopling of the Earth 


THIRD PERIOD? THE PRESENT: 


The Woman Who Married a Star 

The Man Who Went to Spirit-Land 

The Man Who Rescued His Wife from Spirit- pend 
The Crippled Boy Who Disobeyed the Gods . 


Abstracts 


315-351 


THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The Wichita, at the time of their first contact with the United 
States Government, occupied a village on the North Fork of the Red 
River, about four miles below its junction with Elm Fork, in Oklahoma. 
Soon afterwards they were removed to a place called Rush Springs, 
twenty-five miles east of Fort Sill, in 1882. The Wichita, with affiliated 
bands, were transferred to the north side of the Washita River, on lands 
a portion of which had been assigned to the Cheyenne and Arapaho 
in 1869. It is probable that they have now reached their final home, 
as they occupy their land in severalty and the tribal relationship has 
ceased to ewist. It seems probable that, at least for a hundred years or 
more, their permanent villages were never out of sight of the Wichita 
Mountains. Their range may be said to have been confined by the 
ninety-seventh and ninety-ninth parallels, and to have extended south 
from the Washita to about that part of Texas where the city of Waco 
now stands. The territory occupied by them in general may be char- 
acterized as a high, rolling, broken prairie, fairly well watered in places, 
of a sandy nature, and in the main treeless, except for irregular clus- 
ters of scrub oak, with heavier timber, chiefly of elm, cottonwood, and 
willow, along the water courses. 

According to Powell’s classification, the Wichita form the third 
of five groups of the Caddoan stock, the other groups being the Pawnee, 
Arikara, Kichai, and Caddo. With the Wichita proper, therefore, ac- 
cording to this classification, belong the Waco and Towakoni, which 
may be regarded as sub-tribes of the Wichita. For a very long time, 
however, the Kichai have also been closely affiliated with the Wichita, 
and to-day are regarded as an intrinsic part of the tribe. According 
to the well-known chief of the affiliated Wichita of to-day, Towakoni. 
Jim, there is but little difference in the language of the Wichita proper 
and the Towakoni and Waco, while neither of these three tribes is able 
to understand Kichai. The same informant maintains that but four full- 
blood Kichai exist. He is of the opinion that the Kichai is more closely 
related to the Hainai group of the Caddo and the Pawnee than to either 
the Wichita proper or the Towakoni or Waco. , 

The manners and customs of the four bands ‘have been practically . 
the same from very early times, and they have intermarried and lived 

1 


2 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


together to such an extent that it is no longer possible for one custom 
or another to be considered as the exclusive property of a single tribe. 
This holds good.also regarding religion and mythology, and no at- 
tempt, therefore, has been made to group the myths according to tribes, 
though in the note giving the name of the informant his tribal affinity 
has been indicated. 

The population of the four bands, according to the reports of the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, was as follows: 

In 1874— Wichita, 300; Waco, 140; 'Towakoni, 125; Kechai, 106; total, 671. 
In 1885—Wichita, 176; Waco, 64; Towakoni, 145; Kichai, 63; total, 448. 

This total diminished slightly but steadily from year to year, until 
1896, when the total for the four tribes was given at 365. The census 
of 1903 gives the total of the four tribes at 433, but in this is included 
the Delaware. It is evident that there has been a material falling off 
in the number of the Wichita in the last thirty years. It is believed, 
however, that at the present time they are almost, if not quite, holding 
their own. But that they are to suffer a further decline seems probable, 
owing to the fact that in the recent opening of their reservation they 
suffered a decided change in their method of life, and especially to the 
fact that it is possible for them to obtain whisky without great effort. 
Previous to this time they kept up with great conservatism their ancient 
method of living, and, on the whole, were in the enjoyment of a robust 
and vigorous constitution. 

In stature and color, the Wichita present a decided contrast to the 
Plains tribes by whom they are surrounded, such as the Cheyenne, 
Arapaho, Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache. They are decidedly of a 
shorter and stockier build, with a somewhat darker skin. ‘The men 
pierced the lobe of the ear, generally in four places, from which were 
suspended innumerable metal pendants. Both men and women in for- 
mer times practiced tattooing, that of the man differing radically from 
that of the woman. ‘The men were tattooed both on the upper and 
lower eyelids, and from the outer corner of the eyes extended a slight 
line about half an inch in length. From this design the Wichita claim 
is derived their name, owing to the resemblance of the eyes thus tat- 
tooed to those of the raccoon—Kidikides (Raccoon Eyes). These 
marks about the eyes are made on a boy when young, at which time 
he is told that they will prevent him in the future from having sore 
eyes. The men bore two additional marks on the face, consisting of 
short lines passing downward from each corner of the mouth. On the 


back of each hand is tattooed a small design resembling the bird’s foot. ~ 


This is made immediately after the boy has killed his first bird. Up 


INTRODUCTION. 3 


and down the arms and across the breast may be found additional 
marks in the form of a small cross. These indicate the number of 
times the individual has acted as a spy for a war-party which has been 
successful, one mark being made for each incident. These crosses are 
symbols of the stars and represent a well-known mythical hero among 
the Wichita called ‘“Flint-Stone-Lying-Down-Above” (Tahanetski- 
hadidia), who, as is told in one of the myths, is one of the guardians of 
the warriors. The marks tattooed upon the women differ from those 
of the men, the entire group of designs differing but slightly among 
individual women. The most complete, as well as the most common 
design, is here given: A single line passes down the ridge of the nose 
and is carried on to the end of the upper lip, from which a line passes 
in each direction to the corners of the mouth, where each joins a short 
‘line passing downward and terminating in another line directed toward 
the center of the lower lip. Before these lines meet they turn down- 
ward to the chin. The space between these two lines is occupied by 
two short parallel lines, and all four terminate in a line which passes 
entirely around the jaw from ear to ear, and which is surmounted by 
a row of solid triangles. Similar rows of triangles pass across the 
neck and across the upper part of the breast. Down each arm are two 
series of four parallel zigzag lines, while four long lines pass down the 
middle of the breast. Above each of the breasts are three pairs of 
lines, each pair crossing at a wide angle, the open space at each end 
being occupied by V-shaped connecting lines. The nipple is also tat- 
tooed, and around it are three concentric circles. It is claimed by the 
Wichita that the chief object of the tattooing was to distinguish the 
woman, not only from other tribes, but especially from the slaves, of 
whom in former times they seem to have held many. The whole tat- 
tooed design is said to have been derived from the buffalo. The girls 
are told that by receiving these marks they enjoy a more perfect life. 
They are also told that the concentric rings about the breasts prevent 
them from becoming pendulous in old age. 

In character, the Wichita stand high among the Plains tribes as 
regards morality. Their home life seems to have been exceedingly well 
regulated, and intertribal strifes were rare. They have given very little 
trouble to the United States, and from an early time they manifested 
a uniformly friendly disposition, from which, however, they have re- 
ceived no apparent benefit. Of all the tribes of the Plains they seem 
the best natured and most kindly disposed toward the whites; indeed 
it would be hard to find anywhere people of finer nature than that pos- 
sessed by the Wichita. 


4 THE, MYTHOLOGY OF Wii wWiICi tT A, 


In culture, the Wichita belonged to the southern Plains group, 
and the pursuit of the buffalo was secondary to that of agriculture. 
Even to-day their cornfields are not inconsiderable, and with encourage- 
ment would become a source of great profit to them; for apparently 
throughout their whole career they have been devoted to agriculture, 
raising large crops of corn, beans, melons, etc. The produce of their 
fields was, of course, supplemented by the flesh of the buffalo and other 
wild game, but unlike the more nomadic tribes of the north they were 
by no means dependent upon the buffalo. As among the Pawnee, many 
of their inost important ceremonies were concerned with the cultivation 
of their fields. 

The Wichita were village-dwellers, occupying substantial and 
spacious habitations of a bee-hive shape, commonly known as “grass- 
lodges,” of which a few still remain, and the construction of which has’ 
not been entirely given up. In building this lodge, upright forks of 
cedar are erected, varying in number from eight to fourteen or six- 
teen, according to the size of the lodge desired. ‘Transverse beams, | 
also of cedar, connect these forks. Leaning against them, one end rest- 
ing on the ground, and so placed as to form a circle, are long, slender 
cedar poles, which are united at the top. Transversely over this frame- 
work are placed long, slender, decorticated willow poles, held in position 
by thongs of slippery elm bark. A long, coarse, bunch grass is spread 
over the entire surface in layers, beginning at the bottom and continuing 
upward till the top is reached. The grass covering is held in place by 
additional slender willow poles. Where these poles cross the uprights 
bunches of grass are tied. 

The lodges vary in diameter from fifteen to thirty feet. The beds 
are two or three feet from the ground and are arranged around the 
wall, the upright forks serving to mark the position of the beds. The 
number of beds varies according to the size of the lodge, six being the 
usual number, while twelve is not an extraordinary number. Houses 
of diminutive size are occasionally built to hold a single family. The 
lodge has two openings, about two feet wide and three and a half feet 
high, one on the east and one on the west side. Each opening is pro- 
vided with a door made of grass over a willow framework. These 
doors do not move on hinges, but are easily set aside, either from within 
or from without. The eastern door is usually left open in the morn- 
ing, while the western door is used in the afternoon. Generally a similar 
opening is found on the south side of the lodge. This at the present 
time is not used as a door, and seems to be a survival of a time when 
the lodges had both a north and south door, which, however, were used 


INTRODUCTION. 5 


only during ceremonies, especially the ceremony of the medicine-men. 
In the center of the lodge is an excavation for the fireplace. The smoke 
makes its exit through a circular opening about eight inches in diameter 
on the eastern side of the roof, near the top. The top of the lodge is 
continued to a height of about three feet above the point where the 
upright cedar poles meet, by means of tightly wrapped bundles of grass, 
while from the base of this peak project four poles about three feet in 
length, one pointing east, another south, another west, and another 
north. | : 

The four projecting poles outside stand for the four world quar- 
ters or gods, while the upward peak is symbolic of Man-Never-Known- 
on-Earth (Kinnekasus), the Creator in Wichita mythology. It is 
said that a door is placed on the east side that the sun may look into 
the lodge as it rises, and that the west door is so placed that the sun 
may look in as it sets, while through the small circular opening over- 
head the sun may look in at noon. The south door is still retained that 
the god of the south wind may enter. The fireplace is considered sacred, 
for here offerings are made, the food is cooked, medicines heated, etc. 

The furnishings inside the lodge are not unlike those found in the 
Pawnee lodge. The beds consist of mattresses made of slender willow 
rods and coverings of buffalo hide. Over the bed and hanging down in 
front, is a long curtain of buffalo hide, which can be raised or lowered 
at will; this is often painted with war scenes. In the same place, be- 
tween the west opening and the fireplace, stands the corn mill, consisting 
of the trunk of a tree about a foot and a half in diameter and four feet 
long, implanted in the ground. The pestles are long, with a heavy end. 
Usually two or more women engage in grinding corn at once. 

Formerly, pottery was extensively manufactured by the Wichita, 
but its use was long since abandoned. Beautifully made wooden ves- 
sels of large size and buffalo horn spoons are still occasionally found. 
A small, flat granite rock was used for crushing seeds and medicines, 
and a small wood hand mortar was used for a similar purpose. The 
parfleshe, similar to that used by other Plains tribes, is found among 
the Wichita, together with long rawhide bags used as food receptacles. 
For dressing hides they used a flesher similar in shape to that used by 
the other Plains tribes; the handle, however, was of wood and beau- 
tifully fashioned. At one side of the lodge, in well-to-do families, was 
a large summer arbor, built like the grass-lodge, but of elongated shape, 
and with open sides to a height of about four feet. These arbors were 
often of great size, and were provided with a platform raised a foot 


6 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


above the ground. Here they worked and rested in the shade during 
the summer months. A third structure was the corn drying arbor, 
varying in size from ten to twenty feet square and reached by a ladder 
made of a single notched slender tree. Upon this was placed not only 
corn, but meat, etc., to dry, while from its sides and underneath were 
suspended great masses of pumpkins cut into long, thin strips and 
beautifully braided, for which purpose a specially constructed pounder 
was used. Reference is frequently made in the tales to a sleeping arbor, 
upon which it was formerly the custom to make beds for the maidens; 
these were usually smaller in size than the corn drying arbors. In 
addition to the structures described, the Wichita also made use of the 
skin tipi, when on the march, and the sweat-lodge. These differed in 
no essential particular from those used by other Plains tribes. The 
houses were grouped in villages, which occupied the lower levels of a 
hill slope in some well-watered valley. 

The clothing of the men, as a rule, consisted of a loin cloth and 
moccasins. This was supplemented by leggings and the buffalo robe. 
The shirt, such as worn by the northern Plains tribes, was not known. 
The costume of the women consisted of a skirt, generally of buckskin or 
of young buffalo hide, tanned on both sides and wound around the 
- waist and reaching below the knees. The feet and lower legs were en- 
cased in moccasin leggings. It has been said that the women formerly 
wore an apron made of bark, but the Wichita deny this. 

The basis of the social organization of the four tribes was that of 
the village, at the head of which was a chief and a sub-chief. Ejection 
to the chieftainship was never through heredity alone, it being neces- 
sary that the chief’s son should show not only marked ability, but 
bravery and generalship equal to that of his father. It was possible, as 
the stories themselves abundantly illustrate, for the youngest and mean- 
est born boy of the village, through exhibition of bravery, to rise to 
the position of chieftainship. But more than bravery was necessary, 
for the aspirant to this high place must have won the love and respect 
of the members of his tribe by acts of generosity and kindness cover- 
ing the entire period of his life. The power of electing the chief was 
in the hands of the head warriors, who virtually controlled the village, 
and could make or unmake a chief, as they wished. Next in rank to 
the chief was a leader, whose title was The-One-Who-Locates (Oko- 
nitsa), and whose duty it was to be constantly on the lookout for better 
village sites. It was he who was responsible for the removal and laying 
out of new villages and for everything, in fact, pertaining to the loca- 
tion of villages. Next in rank were the medicine-men, who were also 


INTRODUCTION. iv 


priests of certain ceremonies, one of their number being known as the 
“crier,’ or “announcer.” From the remaining inhabitants of the vil- 
lage were selected one or more known as “servants.” ‘Their duty was 
to do the bidding of the chiefs and of the medicine-men, especially in 
time of ceremonies. After years of apprenticeship they became medi- 
cine-men. Of the remaining inhabitants of the village the basis of rank 
was that of prowess in war, and wealth. 

Although manifesting almost from the beginning a friendly dis- 
position towards the whites the Wichita have never been accused of 
cowardice, and in spite of their small numbers, were probably as suc- 
cessful warriors as any of the Plains tribes. As is so often illustrated 
in the tales, the time and nature of the war-party was determined by 
some one who desired to lead an expedition, at which time he would 
invite his friends to his lodge, tell them his plans, and select a head 
leader and two second leaders, the latter serving as spies or scouts, 
while on the journey. 

The chief object of war expeditions was the taking of scalps and 
the capturing of women to be used as slaves. The hereditary enemies 
of the Wichita were the Apache, Osage, and Tonkawa. These three 
tribes, in the order named, were considered the bravest of all their foes, 
and as a consequence, the taking of a scalp of an individual from one 
of these tribes was looked upon as a high honor. The Wichita had 
the usual grades of showing prowess in war; such were counting coup, 
stabbing, scalping, and killing. Their war records were usually de- 
picted in detail on the robe, or the more salient features of the record 
might be indicated on the tipi. The significance of the marks describ- 
ing these war records was always supposed to be known by the other 
watriors of the tribe, and when an individual misrepresented his rec- 
ord, either on his robe or on his tipi, he was at once proclaimed a liar 
throughout the camp, and his robe or tipi might be destroyed. It was 
also the custom of warriors to proclaim their prowess by contests in 
the lodges during the long winter evenings, when war tales exclusively 
were told. The return of a victorious war-party was always the occa- 
sion for great rejoicing in the village, the news being transmitted by the 
signs made by the leader of the party as he arrived at a certain high 
hill overlooking the village, which was always set apart for this pur- 
pose. Then followed days and nights occupied with scalp and victory 
dances. 

Often before birth, a name was selected for the forthcoming child. 
This name might be due to some dream of its mother or some relative, 
the sex of the child being revealed at the same time, and the name would 


8 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


agree with its supposed sex. Naturally the dream did not always come 
true, as, for example, in the case of a certain well-known Wichita still 
living, who bears the name ““Ignorant-Woman,” although he is a robust 
man and is far from being ignorant. Should nothing occur to indicate 
to the parents a suitable name for the child before its birth a name was 
given it soon after birth. The name, however, was not hastily chosen, 
but they waited until the child itself had done something which the 
parents believed to be characteristic or indicative of deeds he was to 
perform during the course of his life. Again, the name might be de- 
ferred until the child could crawl, or walk, or until such time as it 
should have done something, or manifested some peculiarity, which 
would suggest a name to the parents. This name the child usually bore 
until it was well-grown. Should the child continue to live and be pros- 
perous it might retain this name throughout life. If, for any reason, 
it should seem desirable to change the child’s name it was done, 
sometimes by women for the girls, or by men for both boys and girls, 
for it was supposed that a man, having been on the war-path, had a 
wider range of experience than a woman. Should the child be sickly and 
have much bad luck in its early years its name might be changed in- 
numerable times.. Several other men would be invited to the lodge, their 
names pronounced, and the child would be asked the name it 
liked best. The individual whose name was chosen walked up to the 
child, saying: “The name that I shall give you is the one you shall 
bear throughout life. As I give you this name you shall live to be as 
old as I am, for I myself have enjoyed life without sickness, and so 
you, too, shall enjoy the same sort of life that I have enjoyed, and you 
shall have my powers as well as my name.” Instead of giving his own 
name to the child, the man might give it some name which had refer- 
ence to some act or deed of his on the war-path, or of some particular 
enemy. 

Should the man marry and have children, and be unfortunate with 
them, he would change his own name, thinking thus to bring about a 
cessation of sickness or death among his children. Thus he would 
call in an old man, spread robes on the ground and ask him to sit down, 
thereby presenting him with the robes. He then presented the old man 
with a pipe. The visitor now realized that he had been called for 
some particular purpose, and asked why he had been invited and what 
he might do that was in his power for the man. 

Then the unfortunate man would reply about as follows: “T realize 
that you have enjoyed a successful life and good health and I wish 
that you may have good luck for the remainder of your life; and 


er 


INTRODUCTION. 9 
* 

as you are getting old, I hope that your good fortune will continue. I 
have had bad fortune, and I desire to obtain your name.” The old 
man then pronounced his own name and the other man bought it. The 
old man then stated that, for example, this name was given to him in 
childhood. He told how he got his name, and that throughout life he had 
always had good luck in everything, and he thought that as the young 
man took his name he also would enjoy good life. Then the name was 
transferred without ceremony, and the village crier was requested to 
go through the village and ask the people to give their attention. He 
then cried out that such and such a man had desired to have a new name 
to prevent sickness among his children; that he called an old man to 
his lodge and obtained the old man’s name, and that hereafter he was to 
be known by this name. The old man either obtained a new name for 
himself or he went for the remainder of his days without a name, in 
which case he would be given a nickname, such as “Old-Man,” “Old 
Woman,” “Gray-Hair,” “Dog Hair;” or he might say at once: “My 
name I have given to so and so, and I have given myself a new name.” 
Should a man meet death on the war-path, or die prematurely, his 
name was never mentioned. An instance is told of a man by the name 
of “Two,” who died. After his death this word was never pronounced, 
but in expressing the numeral the sign language was used. Ifa person 
died through the influence of a witch, or if some. one killed him because 
he had brought sickness upon some one, his name was not used, but 
he was referred to thereafter by a nickname, such as “Buffalo-Calf,” 
“Corn-Bread,” etc. Characteristic names in use to-day may be found 
in the names of the informants, given in footnotes to the myths. 
During the early life of a girl she was closely watched, not only by 

the parents, but by relatives; as she grew older she was warned to have 
nothing to do with men, to keep away from them, and in the choice of 
a husband she was supposed to have no part. It being decided by the 
parents of some young man that a particular girl was desirable for a 
daughter-in-law, they asked some individual to go to the lodge to ob- 
tain the parents’ consent. This go-between was usually a middle-aged 
woman and a relative of the boy. She asked of the girl’s parents if 
they were willing that their daughter should marry, and in case of an 
affirmative answer the relatives of both families were called together. 
First, however, it was supposed that the parties had learned all about 
the boy, whether he was of good or bad reputation, and especially 
whether he was able to support a wife. The parents of the young man 
were informed that their proposition had been accepted, and the young 
man himself went to the lodge of the girl next evening. Should the 


IO THE MYTHOLOGY: OF GPELE WICHITA: 


parents of the girl still favor him he remained. ‘Then, after this, the 
girl was watched, that she might not associate with other men. Should 
she prove unfaithful at any time she was beaten with a stick by her 
father. But should the parents of the girl at any time disapprove of 
their son-in-law they told the girl to send him home. ‘This constituted 
divorce. The duty of the young man was to watch over the property 
of the family, and in the faithful fulfillment of these duties and in the 
providing of food rested his claim for favor with his wife’s parents. 

Again it might happen that the parents of a certain girl desired a 
certain young man for their son-in-law, in which case the girl’s parents 
sent some middle-aged woman to ask the parents’ consent for him. 

Should the young husband die the girl’s parents cut her hair, the 
length being determined by the favor in which they held the young 
man. The parents of the deceased husband might also visit her from 
time to time and cut off a portion of her hair. The girl remained 
single for a certain number of months, during which time she kept 
secluded and permitted her hair to remain uncombed. During this 
time she wore old clothes. After the requisite number of months had 
passed, the parents provided new clothing for the daughter. The par- 
ents of the deceased husband now went to the young widow’s lodge. 
She, having been forewarned, had carefully swept the lodge. Upon en- 
tering, they washed her face, combed her hair, and painted her face, and 
then placed upon her, her new clothing. They then began to talk to 
her, telling her that they thought as much of her as when their son 
was alive, and now they had come to tell her that the period of mourning 
was over; that they had given her the things that they had 
brought; that she might laugh, eat heartily, and that now she might 
marry anyone she pleased. The woman, having her liberty, after the re- 
quisite period, might meet with some man whom she conversed with 
and who desired to marry her. She then reported the fact to her 
parents and to the parents of the deceased husband, in which case she 
’ was usually told that she might do as she liked. Should she have been 
faithful to her former husband during the time of mourning, her hus- 
band’s parents then said that they thought just as much of her as when 
her husband was living, and they might take her and her new husband 
into their lodge. Occasionally a man might wish to marry a woman 
who had a brother, and who had been separated from her first husband 
by death, in which case, the suitor went to the brother and asked him if 
he might have his sister, taking with him a present, such as a robe or a 
bow and quiver full of.arrows, on his pony. 


INTRODUCTION. or 


The usual age of marriage among the girls was sixteen or more 
years, by which time she was supposed to be able to cook and look after 
the lodge, as well as to assist in the fields. ‘The men were supposed to 
marry when old enough to be able to provide food and safety for a 
family. ; 

During the period of the woman’s monthly sickness the husband did 
not sleep under the same roof. She did not prepare food for him; 
otherwise he would suffer illness. Having recovered, the woman went 
at once to the river and bathed, and her relations with him were resumed 
as before. 

Delivery was performed by old women especially trained for this 
purpose. After the birth of a child the husband did not enter the lodge 
of the child and mother until after four days; otherwise he would invite 
sickness, especially consumption, on his wife and child. Immediately 
after the birth some old woman was selected to take the child to the river 
and bathe it. She had to be well versed in the mythology of the tribe, 
and especially had to know the instruction given by the Moon to 
women when she instructed them about the birth of children. Arrived 
at the river she prayed to the Moon and Man-never-known-on-earth. 
Then she carried the child into the water, praying to all the gods in the 
water. She asked that the child might grow as fast as they did. The 
child’s head was then sprinkled with water, after which it was immersed. 
On the appearance of the moon the child was taken outside of the lodge 
and held up to the moon, and a prayer was made that it might grow as 
she, the moon herself, grew from day to day. 

The after-birth was always wrapped in a cloth and placed in a 
straight young elm tree—the elm because it produced splendid, straight 
offspring which grow well, and always seem prosperous. They prayed 
to the tree: “Keep this until it decays. I beg that the child which 
was in this may have power. May it grow like your children.” The 
after-birth was never put on the ground, lest animals should harm 
it; nor was it thrown into the water, lest fishes should eat it, in which 
case the child would be sickly and die. In the story of After-Birth-Boy 
may be found another reason why the after-birth was never thrown into 
the water. 

Shortly after the birth of the child the father looked about the vil- 
lage to discover some woman who had grown fast and who had always 
had good health. His choice having been made he went to the timber 
and cut twenty-four small, slender willow rods, the longest of which, 
to form the sides of the cradle, were cut first. Before the stick was cut he 
addressed it: “Now you were made to be used for many different 


I2 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


purposes. I have now come to take your life. You are to be used for 
a cradle.” Standing on the south, he cut the stick on the east side, 
then stepping tothe west of the stick, he cut it on the south side. He 
then stepped to the north and cut it on the west side, and then he took 
hold of the stick and made it fall towards the north. He then trimmed 
the sticks and cut them into the proper length. During this time he 
neither sang nor made any noise. Having cut the twenty-four sticks, 
he returned home. He now decorticated the rods, carefully saving the 
bark. He dried and straightened the rods, and if any were too large 
he trimmed them down. The shavings also were carefully saved. The 
rods having been prepared he took them, together with the bark and 
shavings, to the woman he had selected. She took the bark and the 
shavings toward the north and hid them either in a tree or in the 
ground; otherwise the growth and health of the child would have been 
impaired. Returning to her lodge she took up the twenty-four rods, 
prayed to Man-never-known-on-Earth, then to the Moon, that as she 
made the cradle they would help her to make it in a proper manner, 
and that the child might grow rapidly. The sticks were then painted 
red or yellow and were bound together in the form of a flat mat by 
sinew from the back of the neck of a buffalo. As soon as the cradle 
was finished she took it to the parents, and handed it to the mother, 
telling her that she had finished the cradle; that while making it she had 
prayed to the maker of all things and to the moon; and that the moon 
would see to it that the child would grow rapidly and he healthy. As 
soon as the child began to walk the cradle was put aside and kept for 
future use in the same family. A cradle which had served for several 
children in one family, all of whom had been healthy, might be sought 
after by another family, believing that by the use of it their children 
would grow without sickness or any trouble. Should the child die 
during its cradle days the cradle was carried out and placed upon a 
tree, that it might never be used again. 

A single form of burial was recognized among the Wichita. This 
varied slightly, according to the rank of the family of the deceased. 
Immediately after the death of a chief or of any prominent person, the 
parents or near relatives called upon some friend to take charge of the 
funeral. This friend invited three or four to assist him, and together 
they went to the burying ground, always situated on a near-by hill, 
and dug a grave, about four feet in depth. In the meantime the body 
had been bathed by other friends of the family and had been carefully 
dressed in suitable clothing, and the face was painted with the symbols 
which were the especial property of the individual in life. With the body 


INTRODUCTION. 13 


were placed all war trappings except the shield, which was never 
buried, but was either turned over to some friend who might know its 
medicine, or was placed by the grave, or more generally, in a tree re- 
mote from the village. By the side of the body might be placed leg- 
gings by some relative or friend who asked the deceased to keep them 
for him. During this time the body had remained in the house, and 
was visited by all the relatives and friends of the family, who came 
to mourn over it. After two or three. days’ mourning the body was 
carried to the grave, the parents and near relatives remaining at home. 
Before placing the body in the grave a prayer was addressed to the 
earth by the one in charge of the ceremony: ‘“‘Now you have been made 
to contain all things, to produce all things, and for us to travel over. 
Also we have been told to take care of everything which has come from 
your bosom, and we have been told that in your body everything should 
be buried. I now come to bury this man.” The body was placed full 
length in the grave, with its head to the east, that when the spirit 
should rise it might without delay take the road which leads upward 
towards Spirit-Land. The body was then covered up. At each end 
of the grave was erected a forked upright about four feet in height, the 
forks being connected by a cross-bar. Against this cross-bar, with their 
lower ends resting against the sides of the grave, were uprights, thus 
entirely encircling the grave. The one in charge of the funeral rites 
then returned to the parents of the deceased and told them that he had 
finished, whereupon they might offer to take him into their family as 
son or brother, as the case might be. 

Formerly it was the custom for one or more horses, especially the 
best horse of the deceased, if he had had many, to be slain by the side 
of his grave, or a horse, or many horses were given to his brother or 
to the one who assisted in the funeral rites. It is not known that slaves 
were ever killed at the time of the burial of a chief or prominent indi- 
vidual. It is told, however, that a well-known Wichita once lost his 
life in a fight with the Tonkawa, and that he was the owner of four 
Tonkawa slaves. One of these was put to death on the return of the 
war-party. 

Death while in battle was held preferable to any other form of death 
among the Wichita. At least they preferred to die in full health and in 
some open place. Thus, a man injured in fighting would be told not 
to go into the timber to die, but to go out on the prairie, where the 
wolves would eat him. Should two individuals be about to die while in 
battle, they were told not to separate further than a crow could jump. 


14 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


Immediately after burial the spirit of the dead was supposed to 

rise and ascend toward the east to Spirit-Land, the rank of the spirit in 
Spirit-Land being determined by that held by ‘him while on earth. 
To take one’s own life was held to ‘be the most dishonorable form 
of death, and the spirit of the suicide was supposed to wander just 
outside the entrance of Spirit-Land, not being able to enter and share 
in the pleasures of the village. 

Between the time of the death and the burial the parents and friends 
continued to mourn, going about with uncombed hair and in ragged 
clothing. In the village no one was heard to sing or give evidence of 
joyfulness, and if the children were noisy they were hushed into silence. 
This continued for four days after the burial. On the morning of the 
fourth day a certain individual of the village, who must be of good 
character, informed the mourners that they must watch for them. He 
then selected two or three additional individuals of good character, and 
together they entered the lodge of the mourners, bearing a pipe and a 
wooden bowl. The inhabitants of the village had already been notified 
of the coming event and thad gathered outside. As they entered the 
lodge the leader spread a robe on the ground, upon which he placed 
the mourners. Lighting the pipe he handed it to the father or next of 
male kin, and said: “I have come to tell you this. I have come to 
tell you to stop mourning. You have mourned long enough. Take 
my pipe and smoke. Thus you will signify that you have ceased 
to mourn.” ‘he pipe was passed to all the mourners, the father 
or the brother first. All of them smoked, thus signifying their assent, 
whereupon the leader turned to the people and told them that the 
mourners had accepted the pipe. He again talked to the mourners: 
“Now I want you to tell me what you have in your heart, to say how © 
you feel. I want you to tell me that since you have smoked, the people 
in the camp may be allowed to sing and dance and be happy as here- 
tofore; that you will release the camp from mourning; and that you 
yourselves will eat, enjoy life, and that we may enjoy life with you 
again.” After giving their assent to this the whole village mourned 
for a few moments, then the leader wiped the tears from the mourners, 
told them to cease weeping, and took the bowl of water and washed 
their faces. Now followed the mourning feast, provided by friends 
of the mourners, after which the village returned to its normal con- 
dition. In case the deceased belonged to one of the singing societies, 
the members now at once went to the lodge of one of their number, 
sang four songs, mourned for a few minutes and then dispersed to 
their homes, and the entire village assumed its normal condition. 


INTRODUCTION. I5 


Often the leader of a returning war-party was obliged to admit to 
the village that he had not only failed to return with a scalp of the 
enemy, but that one of his own party had lost his life. Approaching 
the village, some man of the party was chosen to precede the war-party, 
and as he came within sight of the village he began to mourn. ‘The 
village at once was on the alert and sent a servant to meet him, to see 
who ‘had been killed. As soon as the servant learned the name of 
the unfortunate member of the party he returned to the silent village 
and called out the name, saying, “So and so has been killed in manly 
fashion.” Immediately on such a return the head warrior went to the 
parents (or brother) of the warrior killed, and said to them: “I have 
been the leader of a party, and in this party was your son (or your 
brother) who Jost his life. I failed to. save him. Here Iam. Do with 
me as you like, for it was my place to have brought him back to you 
alive.’ The person addressed said: “No, I do not deside to take your 
life,’ and going up to him, cut off the end of his hair and told him to 
go and live. 

Everyone,in the village now mourned, especially the near relatives 
of the one who was killed. The parents at once gave away all of their 
property, including that of the son, retaining only their oldest dresses 
for mourning costume. Now followed four days of mourning. Then 
a certain self-appointed man of the village, and he must be a brave man, 
undertook to bring about a cessation of mourning. He collected ob- 
jects of various kinds, and clothing, for use in the forthcoming rite. 
On the morning of the fourth day he went with his bundle of clothing, 
etc., and a filled pipe, to the lodge of the mourners and seated them out- 
side of the lodge. He took his pipe, lighted it and offered it to the head 
mourner, thus asking him to smoke, saying: “I want you to allow me 
to tell you that you must stop mourning. Tell me what you think in 
your heart. Shall the people go on mourning, or not? The people 
want to know. The people want you to tell them that you will stop 
mourning and permit them to sing and beat the drum and play.” The 
head mourner took the pipe, smoked, and passed it to the other mourn- 
ers, whereupon the leader said: “Here are your gifts, for your 
mourning has ceased. Now, then, mourn for a few minutes,” where- 
upon he wiped away their tears and bathed their faces and then fol- 
lowed the feast as above. By so doing this individual had made it 
known to the village that within a short time he was going to lead a 
party on a war expedition, in which case, should he be successful in 
securing a scalp, he would give it to the mourners. In the meantime 
the life of all the members of the village was continued as before the 


16 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


death, except for the mourners. ‘They continued to mourn in silence, 
however, and in their lodge, until he had returned victorious from a 
war expedition, with a scalp. 

In the religious organization of the Wichita, the same liberality 
which is so characteristic of the tribe in general was strikingly mani- 
fested. While we find certain religious ceremonies in control of quasi- 
secret societies, they do not prove to be esoteric to the same extent as are 
those of the Pawnee. As a consequence, not only the salient features 
of their religious belief, but the mass of tribal lore constituting their 
mythology is open to all who can afford the slight compensation asked 
by the narrator of traditions. 

While intensely conservative in many ways, as already pointed out, 
the religious ceremonies of the Wichita began many years ago to de- 
cline. This was largely due to the fact that the Wichita were a race 
of warriors, and their societies were largely concerned with acts of 
war. We do not find the extended and beautiful rituals, so characteris- 
tic of the Skidi and other bands of Pawnee, nor do we find, to any 
degree, extended ceremonies based upon the dramatization of myths, 
so characteristic of the tribes further to the west and south. Member- 
ship in all religious organizations seems to have been based almost en- 
tirely upon the wish of the individual. No organization is known to 
have existed the basis of membership in which was hereditary. 

Standing at the head of the ceremonial societies was the deer dance, 
or the ceremony of the medicine-men. According to my informant, 
the last ceremony was performed in 1871. From my scant knowledge 
of the ceremony, it seems not to have been unlike that of the Skidi. 
No one could participate in the ceremony except medicine-men, each 
of whom had his own song or songs, in which was set forth the story 
of the origin of his magic power. In addition there were certain rituals 
sung, in connection with the opening and closing rites of the ceremony. 
The dance was held generally three, occasionally four, times a year; 
the first occasion when the grass had just appeared, the second when 
the corn was ripe, the third when the corn was harvested. The cere- 
mony was never held in the winter. One of the special features of the 
ceremony was the administering to the novitiate of a small red bean, 
which produced a violent spasm, and finally unconsciousness, this 
condition being indicated by the inability of the novitiate to suffer pain 
when the jaw of a gar-pike was drawn over his naked body. During 
the ceremony offerings were made to the different gods, and at the end 
of the ceremony and following the feast was a ceremonial foot race, in 
which all members of the tribe, both male and female, were permitted 
to compete. This was followed on the part of those engaged in the 


INTRODUCTION. LA 


ceremony by violent vomiting. The foot race was supposed to give the 
participants great endurance while on the war-path. The chief efficacy 
of the ceremony was the removal from the camp of all evil influences 
and the promoting of good health, long life, and general prosperity. 

Next in importance was the ceremony of the calumet pipe sticks, 
during which feathered pipe-stems were carried to some chief or other 
prominent individual of the tribe or to some neighboring tribe. 
This ceremony abounded in ritual and had its origin in one of the early 
myths, and its performance was supposed to confer lasting benefit upon 
the tribe. It is claimed by the Wichita, and there is evidence that their 
claim is valid, that they originated this ceremony, and that it was ob- 
tained from them by the Skidi, who, in turn, passed it on to the other 
tribes of the Pawnee. 

Next in importance, and having their origin in times comparatively 
modern in the legendary chronicles of the Wichita, were the rain 
bundle ceremonies, the first having to do with the maturation of the 
corn; the second with the propagation of the buffalo. The chanting of 
the rituals was the chief feature in both of these ceremonies, the time of 
the singing being marked by the drawing of a stick over a notched 
club, one end of which rested on a buffalo rawhide resonator. Both 
had their origin in the animal gods. 

Next in importance were two ceremonies similar in nature, and 
known as “Surround-Fire,” and “Small-Robes.” These ceremonies 
also were of ritualistic nature, the first having its origin in the stars, 
and the second from the animals. The performance of both cere- 
monies was supposed to be efficacious in obtaining certain power or 
magic from various animals. 

Next in rank were two societies, the first known as the Many-Dogs, 
and the second as the Horn. The time of the origin of these societies, 
like that of the rain and buffalo, was comparatively recent. They may 
be characterized as singing societies, in which ritualistic songs were 
sung, and they were preparatory to the setting out of a war-party. 

Forming the last group were certain ceremonies or dances, all of 
which had more or less to do with the return of the successful war- 
parties. ‘These were the Scalp, the ‘“Etwats,” the Rubbing-Bone, the 
Turkey, the Squng, the Singers, and the Flat, the last four being danced 
exclusively by the women. 

In addition to the ceremonies just enumerated, the Wichita played 
the well-known forms of games common to the other Plains tribes, but 
always in a ceremonial manner. Among the most noted and sacred 
of these games were the shinny, the double-ball, and the ring-and- 
javelin games. | ? 


18 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


The religious system of the Wichita, like that of the Pawnee, 
though to a less extent, may be characterized as a star cult. The chief of 
all the gods is Man-never-known-on-Earth, who, as is related in the first 
myth, was the creator of the universe, and to him is made the first 
offerings, both of food and of smoke. Next in importance and dig- 
nity is the Sun, who not only gives his light, but assists in the growth 
of everything and in keeping the earth fresh and sweet. 

Closely following the Sun in importance is the Morning-Star, 
whose duty it is to drive the stars along and keep them in place, espe- 
cially to usher in the daylight.- 

Next in importance is the South-Star, the protector of warriors and 
of chiefs. . 

The next in rank is the North or Pole-Star, who stands still, and 
out of regard to the people on earth, at night, he shows them which way 
is north. He is the guardian of the medicine-men, who derive their 
powers from him, and who in their ceremonies give smoke to him be- 
fore recognition is made of the other gods. 

Next in importance are the stars of the Great Bear. Their powers 
are not unlike those of the Sun and the Morning-Star. They are 
made to circle about the North-Star, and are to be prayed to, for in their 
hands is placed power to be given to those who pray to them, especially 
to those who are about to undertake a war expedition. It is said that 
those who pray to them and follow their direction will have good luck 
and have a prosperous expedition. 

Next in importance is a star in the north known as the “Ghost- 
Bear.” This star is of comparatively recent origin, for it is said that 
a certain man who traveled in the far north saw a human being stand- 
ing before him, who said to him: “This is my burial place. I live in 
the far north. There I live. Should you like some of my power, and 
should you accept whatever I offer you I will give you power. You 
shall have the power over the herbs to cure people, for I am a medicine- 
man. If an accident should happen, or if sickness should arise, I will 
give you a way to heal, and in your doctoring you should look to the 
Sun, for my powers are derived from him. Before you begin doctoring, 
offer me smoke.” ‘Thereupon the man was informed that it was the 
Ghost-Bear who was talking to him, and upon looking again he saw 
that it was a Ghost-Bear. The man looked back and the Ghost-Bear 
had become a star. 

Flint-stone-lying-down-above is the next in importance in the 
Wichita pantheon. This star, which is said to be immediately overhead, 
and which can not be seen except in a moonless night, is always to be 


INTRODUCTION. 19 


prayed to as one of the important gods. Smoke and food are also to be 
offered to him, inasmuch as we know, according to the tales, that while 
upon earth he took pity upon the people, that they might have good 
fortune, live long, be free from sickness, and have good success in war. 

The Moon is the special guardian of the women, for she is a woman 
and possesses all the powers which women desire. She it was who taught 
the first woman on earth and gave her power. She instructs the women 
as to the time of the monthly sickness, informs them when they are 
pregnant, and when the child is to be born, and thas told them that 
after birth the child must be offered to her by passing the hands over 
the child’s body and raising it aloft, offering it to the Moon, at which 
time she is asked to bestow her blessing upon the child, that he may 
grow into power rapidly, for she herself has the power to increase 
rapidly in size. Furthermore, she regulates the increase not only of 
human beings, but of all animals, birds, and plants. 

Somewhat similar in her power to the Moon is the woman known 
as “Woman-having-Powers-in-the-water (Otskahakakaitshoidiaa). 
‘She it is who has power over the water. She is chief of all water 
potencies and things living in the water. She not only furnishes drink, 
but cleanses and ‘heals the people by the action of water. The child is 
taken to her at birth and she bestows upon it the power to grow to old 
age. She is also the special guardian of the wife left at home when her 
husband has gone on the war-path. She it is who encourages her to 
remain virtuous, and thereby make sure of the good fortune of her 
husband while on his journey. Thus the wife repairs to the river in 
the morning, just as the Morning Star rises, and also late in the 
evening, and bathes secretly. As she goes to the river she wears a new 
skirt of buffalo drawn up tightly over her shoulders and held at her 
waist by a buffalo hair lariat rope, while her feet are encased in mocca- 
sins tightly wrapped with rawhide strings. These she changes each 
night before retiring. Again, putting on her costume early in the 
morning, as before, she hastens to the river and during this time, at 
any meal, she eats only four spoonfuls. 

Next in power and in reverence is Mother-Earth, who gives birth 
to everything, is mother of everything, who keeps everything, even her 
bosom for the people to walk upon. Prayers are offered to the earth 
before journeys: “As I start on this journey, and as I take this first 
step, carry me through to the end of my journey.” She is also a great 
medicine chest, keeping upon her body various roots, etc., used in 
healing: ‘We are children of the earth, and as we go on a journey 


20 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


it means that we are like children crawling upon our mother, and as we 
exist upon the earth we are kept alive by her breath, the wind, and at 
the end of ourstime we are put in the ground in the bosom of our 
mother.” 

Prayers are also offered to the god of the Wind, which is breath, 
and hence life. Especially in case of sickness, prayers are frequently 
offered to the Wind god: ‘Now, good Wind, I ask you to come and 
breathe on me, so that I may be healed and feel comfortable. I pray 
you, good Wind, enter me, so I may breathe and be healed.” ° 

Finally, offerings and prayers are made to the animals, especially 
to those which are supposed to have magic power, and which are the 
special guardians of the medicine-men. Thus, in the ceremony of the 
medicine-men, after the novitiate has been placed in a trance, he usually 
holds speech with some fierce wild animal, who visits him and in- 
structs him—should he prove brave and not become scared. Thus he 
obtains power which he uses in doctoring, and in his songs, sung dur- 
ing the medicine-men’s ceremony, he tells of his experience with the 
animal. 

In general, the gods of the Wichita are spoken of as “dreams,” 
and they are divided into four groups: Dreams-that-are-Above 
(Itskasanakatadiwaha), or, as the Skidi would say, the heavenly gods; 
and (2) Dreams-down-Here (Howwitsnetskasade), which, according 
to the Skidi terminology, are the earthly gods. The latter “dreams” 
in turn are divided into two groups: Dreams-living-in-Water (Itska- 
sanidwaha), and the Dreams-closest-to-Man (Tedetskasade). 

w~ The myths of the Wichita tell of the story of the origin of the 
world, its transformation, its present existence, and foretell its end. 
There are thus recognized four distinct eras or epochs in the history of 
this earth, these four to be replaced by another four in future years. 
In this scheme the succession of events in these four eras may be 
categorically stated as follows: In the first era, that of creation, ap- 
pears the land floating upon water, the first man and woman, who were 
given an ear of corn and a bow and arrows. Darkness still wanders 
over the earth. The shooting of the third of three deer ushers in the 
daylight, and certain stars are seen. Then follows the promise of more 
people, and when day appears the promise is fulfilled, for villages are 
seen, and animals. ‘Then the first creatures are instructed. The first 
man lives to become the Morning Star, and the first woman, having, 
like her husband, wandered from one village to another giving instruc- 
tion and power, becomes the Moon. 


INTRODUCTION. 21 


In the second period, that of the transformation, the people scatter 
out over the earth. They again learn of their power and of their nature. 
Especially do they begin to give themselves names, turn by groups into 
the animals whose names they have taken, or, should they not give 
themselves a name, remain as human beings. Certain ones during 
this period forget their duties. Everything seems to have gone wrong, 
and both planets and animals overstep the bounds of respectability. This 
period of change and unrest and of transformation finally culminates 
in a woman giving birth to four monsters whose heads tower upwards 
toward the heavens. To destroy them and other insolent creatures is 
sent the deluge, which marks the termination of the second period. 

The third period, or the present, was inaugurated by the survival 
of two individuals after the deluge. They again are provided with 
corn and the bow and arrows, and are taught the use of various imple- 
ments, as well as the construction of the lodge. These two degenerate, 
and teach their offspring concerning the times of the ancients. People 
do as they were taught, and are given power by the animals. During 
the early days of this period the people were not only taught the mys- 
teries of the animals, and were told that they could exercise great 
powers, but they were told that they would have to die, whereupon, on 
the return of a certain individual from a journey to Spirit-Land, they 
learned of the other world and the consequent belief in life after death. 

The fourth period, or the end, which the Wichita suppose to be 
rapidly approaching, is known as “Things-running-short” (Wadawa- 
kahitstsiaitsquawaskina), or ‘“When-everything-begins-to-run-out”’ 
(Dakawaitsakakide). The belief in the end of the world as now be- 
lieved by the Wichita, has prevailed from early creation, for even then 
it was foretold. At the end, the supply of the necessaries of life will 
run short. People will no longer accomplish anything. As the time 
approaches Mother-Corn will cease to grow, and in her stead will ap- 
pear some despised weed. At that time, animals will begin to speak 
to men, even the trees and flowing water will talk. Children of the same 
families will intermarry and cease to have offspring, and this is to be 
one of the indications of the approaching end, for they will lose their 
judgment. The animals will cease to reproduce their kind, and human 
beings likewise will give birth to animals. The old world will be com- 
pletely worn out and no longer fit to be inhabited. Furthermore, the 
man who has been following the three deer throughout the ages, when 
the end approaches, will overtake the deer, for he has been following 
them since the beginning, in order to recover his arrow, and it is be- 
lieved that he is drawing nearer to them. 


22 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


The end having arrived, some great star will return to earth and 
will pick out some man who is of a kind disposition to explain to the 
people what is about to take place. Then all the stars and the sun and 
the moon will be human beings again, as in the first days. Thereupon 
will begin a new cycle of four eras; another world will be created; an- 
other transformation period will follow, and other generations will 
live as have lived the generations of the present era. 

The belief that this period is approaching is strong among the 
Wichita, for they say they are no longer surrounded by the animals 
which they formerly made use of in so many ways. Everything seems 
to be different from what it used to be. There are no more wild flowers 
or green trees. Nothing seems to grow any more. Even the fowls of 
the air have disappeared, and they were forewarned that their dis- 
appearance would be a sign that the end was near at hand. Furthering 
this belief is the frequency with which the people in their dreams con- 
verse with stars. Another evidence that the world is getting old and 
going the other way, is the realization that the tribe is constantly grow- 
ing smaller and that, like the offspring of the pair saved out of the 
deluge, they will soon be obliged to intermarry. 

The myths of the Wichita naturally refer to the first two epochs of 
the world’s history, and are spoken of as “old” or “true” tales; while 
those which refer to the present period are spoken of as “new.” 

In relating the various myths no order, as a rule, is followed, for, 
on account of their great length, generally not more than one or two 
are told in a night. Should it seem desirable, however, on the part of 
the teller, to follow some order, he bases his scheme not only upon 
what he considers to be good chronological order, but one which in 
its relation to the happenings of events preserves the order followed by 
the sun in its course, for this was the scheme of creation. Hence the 
gods of the east take precedence over those of the south, while those 
‘of the south take precedence over those of the west and north. 

Instruction concerning the time of creation and transformation is 
considered by all Wichita parents as conferring a lasting benefit upon 
their children. Hence it is their custom to invite to their lodge some 
man, generally of advanced years, who is known throughout his life 
to have been upright, kind, and brave, to relate the deeds of the ancient 
heroes. Not only was the rehearsal of these tales looked upon as a 
form of worship, as a prayer to the gods and heroes which still exist, 
but by the relating of their acts the young men and women of the house- 
hold were led to believe that they, too, might become great and good. 


INTRODUCTION. 23 


It was customary before the beginning of a tale to offer a sacrifice 
of smoke to all the gods as human beings, addressing them to the effect 
that the teller was about toirelate the story of their life; for these gods 
had said while human beings that if anyone should tell correctly the 
story of their life, such narrators would receive benefit, and that on 
the following day a sign would be given them if they had not mis- 
represented their life, the sign being a light fog early on the following 
‘morning. Should a night of story telling in winter be followed by a 
day of excessive cold it would be said that the story teller had not told 
his tale properly, or that he had told a tale which he should not have 
told. At the end of the story the narrator, especially should he have 
followed as nearly as may be in the footsteps of the hero whose life he 
is recounting, often weeps, and the young listeners strike their front 
teeth with the nail of the thumb, thus indicating their desire that their 
teeth may always be sound, and that, having heard the story, they may 
live happily and enjoy good luck and ‘live to old age and do wonderful 
deeds, such as were performed by the hero of the tale. Then followed 
the offering of food and smoke by the narrator to the heroes of the 
tales he had just recounted, the smoke offering being first made. Then, 
taking a pinch of food, he raised it aloft and asked Man-never-known- 
on-Earth to accept the offering. This he now placed at the foot of the 
fire crane. He then offered food to the east to the Morning-Star ; to the 
south to the South-Star, the protector of warriors; to the west, the 
home of the meteors; to the north to the Pole-Star and the Seven; and 
then to Mother-Earth. 

In general, it may be said that the object of relating stories of 
ancient times was that the listeners might have recalled for them the 
fact that evil creatures and monsters, and in general the evil spirits of 
the world no longer exist; that they were removed from the earth; 
that their destructive powers were taken from them by Wonderful- 
Man, who knew that the world was changing, so that human being's 
might be human beings and animals exist as animals, to serve as food 
for man. But above all, the value of the stories for the young, lay in 
the lesson taught by example that bravery and greatness were some- 
thing which depended upon individual effort, no matter how low or 
mean might have been his origin, and at the same time, that there 
might descend upon him the same longevity and good fortune as was 
possessed by the hero of the tale. 





al Cate Wet) eee 


‘ ' 


ARCS ee 


THE FIRST PERIOD: CREATION. 


1, THE FIRST CREATION.* 


In the times of the beginning there was no sun, no stars, nor any- 
thing else as it is now. Time passed on. Man-never-known-on-Earth 
(Kinnekasus) was the only man that existed, and he it was who created 
all things. When the earth was created it was composed of land and 
water, but they were not yet separated. The land was floating on the 
water, and darkness was everywhere. After the earth was formed, 
Man-never-known-on-Earth made a man whose name was Having- 
Power-to-carry-Light (Kiarsidia). He also made a woman for the 
man, and her name was Bright-Shining-Woman (Kashatskihakatidise). 
After the man and the woman were made they dreamed that things 
were made for them, and when they woke they had the things of which 
they had dreamed. Thus they rreceived everything they needed. The 
woman was given an ear of corn, whose use she did not know, but this 
was revealed to her in her heart; that it was to be her food; that it was 
Mother-Corn ; that it was to be the food of the people who should exist 
in the future, to be used generation after generation; that from Mother- 
Corn the people should be nursed. Still they were in darkness, not 
knowing what was better than darkness. 

Once upon a time it came into the mind of Having-Power-to-carry- 
Light that he should go toward the east. He went further and further, 
not knowing where or why, but still wanting to find out what he was 
after. He kept on until he came to a grass-lodge. He found somebody 
existing on the earth besides himself. As the entered the grass-lodge 
there 'was light. He saw the man of the grass-lodge. This man of the 
grass-lodge said to him: “Well, I have brought you here. I put it 
in your mind to come this way and visit me. Therefore, you are here, 
and I am told to tell you of some things that are to come to pass. You 
have always thought you were the only person living, but I am here 
too. I have been created the same as you. ‘The man that creates things 
is about to improve our condition. Villages shall spring up and more 
people will exist, and you will have power to teach the people how to 
do things before unknown to them.” While they were talking they heard 
a voice from the east, saying: “Hurry, you men in the grass-lodge! 
Come out with your arrows and shoot the deer that are now starting 


*Told by Towakoni Jim (Towakoni.) 25 


26 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


out to your shore!” The man of the grass-lodge replied to the voice: 
“All right, I will be ready to meet the deer, but I have not yet made 
my arrows, nor_have I got my bow. I must cut and make these first.” 
The man of the grass-lodge went and cut the bow and arrows. Again 
the voice came, saying: “Hurry, the deer are about to land on the 
shore that you are on. You are not to shoot the white deer or the black 
deer, but shoot the last one, that is half black and half white.” The 
man replied: “All right, I will have my bows and arrows ready for 

him.” The man peeled the bark off from his arrows and dried them. — 
The voice came again, telling him to make haste and finish the arrows. 
The man of the grass-lodge again answered, telling how much he had 
done ion the arrows, and that he was feathering them. After a time 
the voice came again, saying: “Hurry!” The man of the grass-lodge 
said: “TI have my arrows ready, but I have yet to put on the string.” 
After he had put on the string the voice came again, and said: “The 
deer are about to land.” The two men went out and saw the deer com- 
ing out of the water toward them. When they got to the bank the white 
and black deer jumped out, and as it was jumping out the man of the 
grass-lodge shot it. After shooting it he heard a voice from above, say- 
ing he had done well. This meant that everything would move, that 
the sun would rise, the stars would move, and the darkness and the light 
would move on. After shooting the deer he followed all of the deer. 
Now the voice was heard from above, saying: “You have done the 
right thing.” The white deer went ahead, then the black one, then the 
one that was wounded. The man of the grass-lodge followed them. 
This man now became Star-that-is-always-moving (Kinnihequidiki- 
dahis). Having-Power-to-carry-Light stayed there after the other 
man had left to follow the deer. By shooting the deer that was half 
black and half white it was signified that there should be days and 
nights. Having-Power-to-carry-Light, as he stood there, looked toward 
the east, where he heard the voice telling what to do, and there he saw 
aman standing across the water on the other shore, who said that there- 
after he should be called Reflecting-Man (Sakidawaitsa), the sun. The 
man on the other shore thought that as he should be known as the 
sun, he would give light, that he would be seen at all times by the peo- 
ple and give them light, and by his powers he would aid them in having. 
great powers. After looking, Having-Power-to-carry-Light looked 
back at the man who had been speaking to him and he was gone; but 
he saw the sun coming up. He then turned back to his home. As he 
went along he began to find out the object of his visit to the grass- 
lodge. This he liked very much. He had light to travel in and could 


THE, FIRST CREATION. 27 


see a long way. He found that light was better than darkness. On 
his way back home he found he could travel faster than he could travel 
in darkness. In a very short time he ireached his home. When he got 
home the sun went down and darkness followed, and he saw up in the 
sky three stars coming up, followed by a single star. Having-Power- 
to-carry-Light made up his mind that the three stars were the three 
deer and that the other star coming behind was the man that had 
wounded the deer. The three stars represented the three deer as they 
had come out of the water, while the fourth star, which came later, 
represented the man who had wounded the deer. 

This was a new start for the man and the woman. They enjoyed 
this kind of life better than living in darkness. ‘Time went on, and 
Having-Power-to-carry-Light saw that the promises which were made 
by Man-never-known-on-Earth to Star-that-is-always-moving were 
being fulfilled. He saw villages springing up. There were more people 
existing, and this was as had been promised. 

After these things had happened the man and the woman went 
from one village to another, showing the people how to use the things 
they had, how to make them, and what to use them for. The people 
in the village had things that they knew nothing about, and they did 
not hitherto know how to make or use them. They simply knew that 
they were existing as human beings. They knew neither where they had 
come from nor how to live. The woman and the man were greatly 
helped by the day. Having-Power-to-carry-Light then began his work 
among the men, teaching them what bows and arrows were; that the 
bow was a weapon of great strength; that the arrow was a thing to 
shoot and kill game with. He gave the men a ball, smaller than the 
shinny ball. He told them that this ball was to be used to amuse them- 
selves with; that the men were to play together and the boys were to 
play together. Whenever a child was born, if it was a boy, this kind 
of ball was to be given to it, that he might observe it and learn how to 
move around. ‘The ball had a string to it. The further the ball rolled— 
that is, the older the child should get, the faster it would move around. 
He went on and taught the men how to play the game, for the people 
were ignorant and did not know what the things were for. Finally 
the men were shown how the ball should be used. He showed them 
the clubs for the shinny game. He told them they should be divided 
equally in the game, one party on one side and the other party on the 
other side. Many men were interested, for the game was new to them. 
Many of the men were fast on their feet. The game was to be won by 
the side that should get the ball to the goal first. Having-Power-to- 


28 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


& 

carry-Light also told them how to travel with the arrows and ball. 
This marks the time when they learned to travel fast from one place 
to another. The men went out hunting animals after they had been 
taught that animals existed for their use, and they traveled with their 
arrows and ball. They would shoot an arrow in the direction they 
wanted to go, then would go with the arrow as it went up. This is 
the way they traveled. They would hit the ball and as it flew the per- 
son would be on the ball. When the ball would hit the ground they 
would hit it again, and so they would go from place to place. Having- 
Power-to-carry-Light traveled like a spirit. When he heard of a place 
he would be right there, but the people who were made after him were 
a little slower in traveling. This sort of traveling was fast enough for 
these people. From this place the went to other places, and he taught 
the people how to use things. He would make the things for them at 
frst, then would teach them how the things were made. 

When the woman began her work among the women she gave 
them Mother-Corn, and told them that this was theirs, and this was 
their mother; that from this time they should be nursed; that with the 
use of Mother-Corn they could live and it would strengthen the young 
ones; that Mother-Corn was to be used as long as the world should 
last. There were no certain times for the women to plant the corn, 
because the time passed pretty fast. When the women planted their 
corn it would grow right up and they would gather their corn at once. 
The Moon told the women that whenever Mother-Corn was eaten by 
them, whether ground or dry, they must offer some food to Man-never- 
known-on-Earth. Then they were to eat of it, and as a prayer for 
blessing before eating of the food they were to take four kernels of 
corn and rub them over the child. ‘These were the Moon’s instructions 
to the woman. Things progressed very rapidly. The young ones grew 
quickly. The woman told the women that Mother-Corn should be used 
for many different purposes. She gave them the things that they 
should use to enjoy themselves—namely, the double-ball game. She 
showed them how to play the game and told them that the ball was for 
their use in traveling. Now she told them the time was drawing near 
when she would have to leave them, for she had gone from one place 
to another, showing the women what to do, how to travel, how to raise 
Mother-Corn, how they must eat it and offer it, in all the ways that 
Mother-Corn was to be used. She told the women that after she had 
become something else she would ask the people, especially the women, 
to look upon her once in a while. She said that by her face women 
should be able to tell their condition; by their monthly flow, whether 


THE FIRST CREATION. 29 


they were pregnant or not. She was to show herself a certain number 
of times, and by keeping count they might know what time the child 
would be born. She said that when she made her appearance the 
parents of the’ young child should turn its face toward her, implying 
a prayer, and asking her that the child might grow as fast as she did. 
By keeping track of the days and the months and the seasons they 
could foretell what things were about to happen. After the woman 
had given all these instructions to the women, telling them how to make 
their offerings to her and to the stars and other heavenly bodies, and 
all the important supernatural beings of the earth, she told the women 
that she had all their powers and they were to know their conditions 
at all times, through her. She then told the women she would be seen 
after the sun had gone down, then she disappeared. Late that evening 
after the sun had gone down, they saw her in the sky, and she had be- 
come the Moon. 

Now, the man told the men that they, in bringing their game from 
the hunt, must offer to the moon, to the stars, and other heavenly 
bodies and to the important supernatural beings on the earth. After 
he had told them thow to use all the other things he said he would have 
to leave them and become something else. He had told them all the 
things they were to have, to use and to do, that there was a place for 
him to go and that he was about to go to that place. He told them that 
when the should go to his place he would show himself early in the 
morning, before daylight, and if, at that time, people should take their 
children to the nearest flowing water and put them in the water and 
bathe them (but they must drink before bathing them) he might help 
them to grow up and enjoy life. He told them that that place was the 
one at which they would get powers that lhe would give them. He then 
told them that he would sometimes be seen in the early morning as a 
star, and sometimes as a human being, and that his name was to be 
known as the First-Star-seen-after-Darkness-passes-by (Hoseyasidaa). 


THE SECOND PERIOD: TRANSFORMATION. 


2. THE DEEDS OF THE COYOTE AND YOUNG-STAR.* 


At this time the Coyote was living out by himself with his family. 
Of course, he was the same as ever and would often go hungry, for the 
could not kill much game. Once upon a time when the Coyote was 
going out to wander around after food he found a boy. He asked the 
boy where he was going. The boy replied that he was going nowhere. 
The Coyote then asked if he might take him to his home to play with 
his boy and live with his family. The boy agreed to live with the 
Coyote’s family. For a long time the lived with them. Through the 
powers of the boy, the Coyote did not have to go very far when hunt- 
ing; everything seemed easier than before the boy had come to live 
with him. The Coyote, being smart in some respects, commenced to 
find out what sort of a boy it was that was staying with him. At times 
Young-Star would foretell what was going to happen, and it would 
come true every time. So the Coyote thought that the boy was won- 
derful, although he was about the age of his own boy. The boy would 
leave his home for a time, then come back again. Sometimes the Coy- 
ote would ask him where he came from before he came to his home. 
The boy would never tell him where he was from, but would tell the 
Coyote he thought he ought to know from the name he bore. The boy 
kept leaving his home with his little companion. One time while they 
were out playing they kept on going east, and there they found a black 
horse (kawara). ‘The boy, being wonderful, caught the horse and 
using his bow-string for a lariat, rode it. But he was unable to get 
the young Coyote to ride the horse, for it was something he had never 
seen." They took the horse home with them. On their arrival the 
Coyote was frightened at sight of the wonderful animal. The boy tied 
the horse near their home and forbade anyone to go near it, for fear it 
would be scared by their scent. While all of the Coyote family were 
in the lodge the boy stepped out to see if his horse was still tied. When 
he saw that it was tied he stopped just outside for a moment and heard 
the Coyote talking about the horse, telling his family that it was a 
dangerous animal to be kept by their home. He was talking especially 
to the young ones, telling them not to go near the horse, for it had a 
long face and it surely must have long teeth, too, and that the horse’s 


*Told by Man-doing-Harm-while-Joking (Waco). 80 


THE DEEDS OF THE COYOTE AND YOUNG-STAR. 31 


body was long enough to permit of its swallowing anybody. The 
Coyote also said that perhaps the boy had brought the fierce animal 
there to eat them up. The boy listened to the Coyote, and thought to 
himself, “What foolish ideas he has, and what a big coward he is to 
fear the horse.” Now, the boy went in and the Coyote stopped talking 
about the dangerous animal. The boy then began to tell about the 
horse and what it was used for, for he and his brother (for so he called 
his young Coyote companion) ‘had often been off a long way and got 
tired, but when the time should come for them to go again they could 
ride the horse, and that would be far better than ‘traveling afoot, and 
perhaps the Coyote could ride it when going after game, for this horse 
was as good a runner as any animal living. The Coyote then began 
to tell his family about the horse and how harmless it was. 

Long afterward, after the young Coyote thad learned to ride the 
horse, the old Coyote commenced to think about moving to the vil- 
lage, just to show off his wonderful boy and the wonderful animal they 
had. The Coyote told this family that he wanted to leave their old 
home and move to the village to live. The family was now pretty well 
acquainted with the horse, and when the time came to move away the 
boy let them ride it. He intended that they should take turns riding the 
horse, for the family was very large. As they started off toward the 
village the boy said he would go off a while to see about something out 
toward the east. The Coyote family started toward the southeast. 
They took along the horse and put a big load on it, including the old 
woman and the children. They came to a steep canyon. The Coyote 
asked the boy’s little companion whether the horse could travel over a 
steep place. The little Coyote said the horse could go over any kind 
of a place, very easy. So the Coyote allowed the family to remain on 
the horse while he whipped it to make it jump across the canyon. The 
horse did not want to go over the place, but the Coyote kept whipping 
it, and firlally it jumped, and off went the Coyote’s family, into the 
steep place, and the Coyote was left standing there. After a time the 
horse came out of the canyon and started toward the place where he 
was found. Just then the boy came in sight, but not near enough to 
call to the Coyote. He thad forgot to tell the Coyote to look for a low 
place when the wanted to cross a canyon with a loaded horse, but now 
it was too late to say anything about it. When the boy came up with 
the Coyote he asked him why he thad not looked for a better place to 
cross the canyon, but there was the Coyote’s family lying in the canyon, 
all dead. The boy then told the Coyote to go right on to the village 
and he would go with him. He told the Coyote that it was his mistake 


32 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


and not that of the horse that he thad tried to get the horse to cross. 
They traveled all day and reached the village in the evening. The 
Coyote knew all the time that he would be treated well, since he had a 
son that was wonderful. When they came to the edge of the village 
there ‘was some one standing there whom the Coyote asked where 
visitors were received. The person directed thim to the largest tipi, 
in the middle of the village, which was the chief’s place. They went 
straight to the chief’s tipi. When they got there the chief told them 
to sit on the west side of the tipi. It was the cusom of the chief to give 
visitors something to eat, so he fed them. The Coyote noticed that the 
chief had four pretty sisters, whom he desired for wives. At the chief’s 
place, according to custom, men met to sit up at night and pass the 
time and talk about the past. There were a good many men at the 
place. About midnight all of the men went home, and the Coyote and 
his adopted son went to bed. The next morning, after they had eaten 
their breakfast, the adopted son told the Coyote to go to a certain place 
towards the north to some timber and there he would find a man and 
his sister living out by themselves, for whose power he should beg. 
The Coyote went as directed,-and when the arrived at the edge of the 
timber he saw a tipi. In the tipi was the man and his sister, and they 
each had a blue complexion. The Coyote walked into the tipi and was 
asked to be seated and to explain the object of his visit. The Coyote 
said he had come that the man might take pity on him and give him 
the same powers he had, so that he might be like him. The man told 
the Coyote he must first have a bow and arrows; that he would have 
to go and cut dogwood for arrows; that he himself had a bow he did 
not use that the Coyote could have. The man told the Coyote to go 
into the dogwood timber and call out to the dogwoods, “Which one 
of you shall I cut?” saying that the one first to say “Me,” he must cut; 
that he must do this four times, because he was to cut four arrows. 
The Coyote then went to the edge of the dogwood timber, stopped and 
called out, “Which one of you shall I cut?” The dogwoods all at 
once commenced to halloo, “Me! Me!’ The Coyote did not know 
what to do, and in order to satisfy all of them he cut as many as he 
could and carried an armful of them to the man in the tipi. When the 
went into the tipi the man asked him why he could not tell which one 
of the dogwoods said “Me!” first. The Coyote said that all of them 
had hallooed at once. So the man selected four of the dogwoods him- 
self, and he told the Coyote to take the remainder of them back and 
pitch them into the timber. The Coyote did as he was told. He then 
went back and found the arrows ready made for him. Then the Coyote 


THE DEEDS OF THE COYOTE AND YOUNG-STAR. 33 


was told what to do and what not to do. Besides the bow and arrows 
the Coyote was given a shield and a war-bonnet. The man told the 
Coyote that upon his arrival at the big tipi of the chief he should not 
think about any woman while he had these things that were given him; 
that four times, at daybreak, the enemy were to attack the village; 
that he and this son would have to do all the fighting, for the reason 
that he was given power to run faster than any man but his son; that 
he must not think about women until the end of these four days, when 
he might do as he pleased about the women. ‘The man asked the Coyote 
if he was honest and brave. Of course, the Coyote could not deny 
that he was honest and brave, so he said he was the most honest and 
the bravest man he knew of. Now, the man told the Coyote to stand 
up. The man then touched the Coyote’s eyes with his hands and rubbed 
them, and when he took his hands from the Coyote’s eyes he asked the 
Coyote what he could see. The Coyote said: “I see everything.” The 
Coyote was now like the man in countenance, and he had the blue 
complexion of the man. The man told the Coyote that he could not be 
hit by enemies, for he himself was that way. The man said to the 
Coyote, “It may be that you have heard about the Jay-Birds (Keats). 
I belong to that class of people.” This was the man from whom the 
Coyote got his powers. 

The Coyote now returned to the big tipi of the chief. Upon his 
arrival he put his things away. The chief told him he might stay in 
the same lodge with his sisters. The Coyote was glad of the privilege. 
His son was not pleased that the chief should give him the privilege of 
sleeping in the same place with the chief’s sisters, lest the Coyote 
should disobey the orders given ‘him by the man with the blue com- 
plexion ; for the boy had already learned that the Coyote was dishonest, 
and he had no confidence that the Coyote would abstain from that which 
had been forbidden him. That night the Coyote went early to bed 
and the women commenced to talk about him and tell about their wishes, 
and they were full of wishes. The Coyote had it in mind to avoid the 
- women wntil four days should pass. However, the lay awake a part of 
that night listening to the women tell about how good-looking he was, 
and saying there was no doubt but that they themselves were good- 
looking. Finally the Coyote went to sleep, and the next morning he 
heard some one crying that the enemy were attacking their village. He 
immediately rose from his bed, and as he was about to go through the 
door, there stood one of the women, who caught him and asked him 
his name. He told her that his name was Owner-of-Flint-Knife- 
Quarries (Tahanetshedaehetsiwe). He finally got loose and went on 


34 THEO MY TEROLOGY OOM rrr a Wel Or tay 


to the scene of the battle. He saw his son in front. When they each 
had killed four of the enemy’s bravest men they turned back to the 
village. Each had a scalp, which they presented to the chief. As the 
sun rose higher everybody came in and the news began to spread about 
the chief’s visitors doing the first part of the fighting and killing the 
enemy’s bravest men. Of this the Coyote was very proud. There were 
three more battles to be fought. The Coyote began again to think about 
the chief’s sisters and of what one of them had already done to him. 
He thought that the rest of the women would also do the same thing. 
The boy knew all about this, for he could read the Coyote’s thoughts, 
and he also knew from the man who had given him his powers. As 
soon as the sun went down the victory dances commenced. The Coyote 
was in the midst of the dancing. When he was tired of dancing the 
went to bed. All the sisters of ithe chief were after him, as well as a 
good many other women, for they knew that he had had the largest 
share of the winning of the battle. All the songs sung were about him. 
When he went to bed he would pay no attention to the women, but he 
was not over mindful of the command the thad received to avoid the 
women until the four battles were accomplished. He went to bed and 
to sleep. The women bothered him, but he would pay them no atten- 
tion. Early the next morning he again heard the same alarm as on 
the preceding morning. He started out, and again there was one of 
the women who called to him and said: ‘“Hanging-Knife (Tahatsawi) 
must remember me this time.””’ The Coyote turned around, and said: 
“You are spoiling my name. That is not my name. My name is 
Owner-of-Flint-Knife-Quarries.” The Coyote now went to the place 
where the fighting was. and saw his son. They performed as on the 
day before, and each took four scalps, which they presented to the 
chief. About the same time the people began to come back and tell 
the people at home what the chief’s visitors had done. ‘he chief was 
proud of the visitors’ good names and brought their names before the 
people. When it was dark they again had dances. The Coyote took 
part, and when he retired from the dance he got into the bed of one 
of the chief’s sisters and slept all night with her. Early in the morn- 
ing another alarm was given that the enemy were attacking the village. 
The Coyote went out and took his place with his son in the front, and 
again they killed four of the enemy’s bravest men. When the enemy 
retreated the warriors on the Coyote’s side began to chase them. The 
Coyote and his son turned back home, having secured each a scalp for 
the chief. On tthe delivery of the scalp to the chief the Coyote noticed 
on the body of the woman he had slept with, blue marks where he had 


THE DEEDS OF THE COYOTE AND YOUNG-STAR. 35 


lain upon her and where he had had his arms around her. He noticed 
at the same time that some of the blue had disappeared from himself. 
He thought that if the should sleep with all of the women all of them 
would turn blue the same as he was. Now, he wanted to lie with the 
other three women during the night. He waited patiently for night 
to come. The three women were thinking the same as did the Coyote, 
for they wanted to sleep with him. In the early part of the night the 
Coyote and his son both went to join in the dancing. ‘The boy knew 
that the Coyote was doing wrong. The Coyote did not think his powers 
could be taken away from him unless the blue complexioned man saw 
him. He forgot that the blue complexioned man had told him that the 
bow and arrows had lives in them and that whatever he might do they 
would know about and that they would escape from him. While the 
dance was going on the Coyote slipped away and went right to the 
place where he was staying and got in bed. When the three women 
noticed that he had left the scene of the dance they also left. On the 
arrival at their place the Coyote told them that he was going to sleep 
with them one at a time during the night. Each took her turn in sleep- 
ing with the nice-looking man that they thought him to be. As he was 
lying with each of these women the Coyote heard his arrows and bow 
talking about his failure to keep his agreement and about making their 
escape. He heard every word they spoke. He was worried by what 
_ they said. The whole night the did not sleep a wink, and finally to- 
wards morning he heard the wind blowing. It seemed to him that the 
wind came inside of the lodge. He and the woman with him fell sound 
asleep. When the other women got up they saw the last woman to 
sleep with the Coyote sleeping with a real coyote. When they awakened 
their sister and asked her to look at what she was sleeping with she 
looked at him and there was this coyote lying on her side with his arm 
around her. She screamed and wakened the coyote. He arose from 
the bed, looked at himself and saw that ihe had a long tail, long ears, 
and was no longer a man. He escaped at once from the place. But 
he had already caused all of the women to be pregnant. The news 
spread of the Coyote losing his powers through disobedience. His 
powers went back to the man from whom he had obtained them. 

The boy now told the chief to assemble his people. The chief 
called the people about his place. They asked the chief why he had 
called them. The chief told them that the Coyote’s adopted son, who 
was known as Young-Star, had something to say to them. The chief 
told the people to listen to him. Young-Star was then asked what he 
had to say to the people. He told them that since he had been living 


36 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


among them he had done all he could to help them along on the war- 
path ; but because of what his father ‘had done he could no longer stay 
with them; that he was going to leave his bow, arrows, and other 
things and his powers, to be used by all the warriors; that they could 
pattern after these weapons in making others, which would be just as 
good; that when first they came to the village he had ordered his 
father to go to a certain place to secure what powers he had had, and 
which the ‘had lost through foolishness, and that for this reason he was 
not to remain with them; that generation after generation they would 
see him mornings as the Morning Star, just as he used to be while 
human. Young-Star then left some of his powers upon earth for the 
people. He-was a small boy and when on the war-path he would put 
onawhite feather. This is the way Young-Star left the village. Early 
the next morning he was seen, and he has ever since been known as 
First-Star-seen-after-Darkness-passes-by (Hoseyasidaa), that is, Morn- 
ing-Star. 


3. THE COYOTE AND HIS MAGIC SHIELD AND ARROWS.* 


Once upon a time there lived. the Coyote with his family. He lived 
by wandering around, hunting all sorts of game, but he never was lucky 
enough to kill enough game to last long, for he had so many children 
that they ate the meat as fast as he could bring it. Once upon a time 
he went towards the west, where he found a man living by himself. 
He walked up to this place, stopped outside, and the man called to him 
to step in. The Coyote stepped in and was asked to be seated, so he 
sat down. The Coyote looked around inside of this man’s lodge and 
he saw many things, such as meat of all kinds. The man asked him 
if he wanted anything to eat. The Coyote said that he would eat some 
meat. ‘he man put a big pile of meat before the Coyote and he com- 
menced to eat. When he had eaten all the meat he thanked the man 
for what he had eaten. The Coyote saw a pole stuck up outside of 
this man’s place, and he asked the man what that was. The man re- 
plied that it was his shield. The Coyote begged the man to give him 
the shield or one like it. The man told the Coyote that he could direct 
him how to make-.one like it if he would come back the next day. 
Before leaving, he was given a big pile of meat to take home with him. 
He started back home with the load of meat on his back. He arrived 
at this place and told his old woman that he had had good luck, so 


*Told by Ahahe (Waco). 


THE COYOTE AND HIS MAGIC SHIELD AND ARROWS. 37 


that she need never go hungry any more. The old woman advised ‘him 
not to do wrong to the one who had given him all the meat. The 
Coyote said to the old woman, “Never mind about my doing anything 
wrong to my friends.” 

The next day, the Coyote went back to the place where the man 
was living alone and walked right in. The man asked the Coyote many 
questions. He asked him if he was brave, and the Coyote said that he 
was born brave. He asked him if he was a fast runner, and the Coyote 
said that he was a fast runner. Then ‘the man asked the Coyote to go 
toward the south, which was a good ways off. He told ‘him to go 
until he came to a small hill, and that around this hill he would find 
three Buffalo sitting down. These Buffalo were of different sizes, 
so if he wanted a large shield or a small shield he was to select a large 
or a small Buffalo. The Coyote started, and when he came to the 
place, he went around the hill and saw the Buffalo sitting down and 
he walked up to them and wondered which the should choose. He 
finally decided that he would have a large-sized shield, and so he asked 
the largest Buffalo to go with him. The Buffalo arose and chased the 
Coyote, who ran to where he had started from. Once in a while he 
would look back to see if the Buffalo was gaining on him. The Buf- 
falo was pretty near up with him when he finally reached the man’s 
place. The man told the Coyote to go outside, to take the Buffalo by 
the ‘horns and give it a jerk, and then he would have his shield. The 
Coyote went out and walked up to the Buffalo and started to grab it 
by the horns; but the Buffalo made a quick motion and made as if he 
was going to hook the Coyote. The Coyote dodged away quick. The 
man told him not to dodge. He walked up to the Buffalo a second 
time, but failed to have courage enough to go up and take it by the 
horns; so the man told him to try again. He walked up the third time, 
and failed again. On the fourth time ‘he was told that if he failed again 
he could not have the shield. He walked up again and the Buffalo 
made another dash at the Coyote, but failed to scare him this time. 
The Coyote took the Buffalo by the horns and jerked it, and there was 
a shield. After this was given to him, bow and arrows were given him. 
He was directed to command his arrows to go out hunting, by shooting 
them in four directions; so that he need never go out hunting himself. 
The Coyote shot the arrows towards each direction—north, east, south, 
and west. It was not very long until he heard these arrows. talking, 
saying that they had killed certain buffalo. All at once he heard some- 
thing fall to the ground and he saw buffalo falling to the ground, each 
one of them having an arrow stuck in him. These arrows themselves 


38 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


brought the buffalo and the Coyote butchered them, took his arrows 
from them, and cleaned the blood from them. The Coyote was told 
to keep this shield.as it was when he first got it, and then he would be 
protected by it. He was also told never to forget to rise early in the 
morning and jerk ‘tthe buffalo by the horns, before sunrise; but not 
after the sun had risen high. He was also told that each of his arrows 
had life in it, the same as he himself had. So the Coyote took his 
shield, bow and arrows, and plenty of meat for his family and set out 
for home. When he got home he told his wife to go and cut him a 
pole on which to hang his shield, bows and arrows. The old woman 
cut the pole and hung up his shield and quiver, and unloaded his beef. 
He told this wife to make haste and cook him some meat, for he was 
hungry, and that he wanted to go out hunting. After he had eaten he 
stepped outside and commanded his arrows to go out hunting, shooting 
one in each direction. Then he waited until his arrows returned with 
their load. He told his wife to butcher the buffalo and clean his arrows, 
then he again commanded his arrows to go out hunting. He repeated 
this four times, so that they had plenty of meat. 

The Coyote, being so proud of his wonderful arrows, decided to 
go out to a certain village. He told his wife that he thought he had 
enough meat to last until he should come back again. The old woman 
told the Coyote to hurry back. On his way, the Coyote met a man 
carrying a large bow and arrow, but the arrow had a blunt point. The 
Coyote asked the man if the arrow was any good. The man replied 
that he used it in killing all kinds of game, and everything else. The 
Coyote laughed over this man’s arrow, telling him that it was too big 
to do anything with, and asked him if he thought he could hhit him. 
The man told the Coyote that anything he shot at was killed. The 
Coyote laughed again, saying that he did not believe it, and he coaxed 
the man to shoot at him, but the man refused. Finally the Coyote got 
him into the notion. The man told the Coyote to go a certain distance 
away. ‘The Coyote walked off a little way and turned back, telling the 
man to go ahead and shoot. The man told the Coyote to go on further, 
so the Coyote walked a good long way off and stopped. He saw the 
man point the arrow toward him and shoot it. All at once he heard 
the arrow coming, and finally he saw it coming, and he ran hard. He 
dodged around, but the arrow kept chasing ‘him until it overtook him 
and shot him in the back and came out of his mouth. The man walked 
up to the Coyote, kicked him on his feet, and told him to arise. The 
Coyote got up and rubbed his eyes, saying that he had fallen asleep. 
The Coyote looked at the man and noticed that he was handsome. He 


THE COYOTE AND HIS MAGIC SHIELD AND ARROWS. 39 


had blue teeth and would spit out blue spit. This power the Coyote 
was bound to have, so he begged the man to give him the power to 
become fine-looking and have a large bow and large arrow. The man 
told the Coyote if he wanted to be fine looking he could be made so, 
and that he could be given the bow and arrows. They started to a 
small stream of water, and the man threw the Coyote into the water 
where it was over his head. When the Coyote came up he was as fine- 
looking as the man was. The man who appeared to the Coyote was the 
Sun (Sakida). The Coyote left the man and continued his journey, 
and -when he came to a stream of water he looked around for a place 
where the water was still and looked at himself and saw what a fine- 
looking fellow he was. He kept on until he came to the place where 
he was going, and late in the evening he went into the village. 

On reaching the place he met a woman and asked her to show him 
where strangers generally went for a night’s lodging. The woman 
told the Coyote to go on until he should find a high tipi. He went on 
until he reached the high tipi. When he entered, the man who lived 
there told him that the place was not safe for any man to visit, for there 
was a man who would call in early in the morning for him to meet 
him at the river. On entering, the Coyote had asked for a place at the 
back of the tipi to erect his pole in the ground. Next morning, of 
course, the Coyote had a duty to perform when his shield was hung. 
In the morning he arose and went around back of the tipi to hang up 
his shield, and there was. a Buffalo grazing. The Coyote took the 
Buffalo by the horns, jerked it, and there was his shield. Now, he was 
called to meet his enemy at the river. He and the chief both went to 
the river, where the Coyote and the other man were to meet. Great 
crowds gathered around the banks of the river. They were ready to 
dive in the river, to find out who could be under the water the longest 
time. In this way the other man had the privilege of killing his enemies 
if he stayed under the water the longest. He had killed many men 
before the Coyote came to the place. They both got on the bank of 
the river and both dived. When the Coyote dived he found under the 
water a beaver lodge, which he entered, just as if he were go- 
ing into a tipi, and there he remained. The other man stayed 
under the water all day, until late in the evening. The crowds 
were still waiting on the bank of the river. The chief once in a 
while would go near the bank, to see who was still under the water. In 
the evening the Coyote’s enemy appeared. Then the Coyote ap- 
peared. The other man now sat on the ground, begging the Coyote 
not to do anything to him, and he promised the Coyote that he should 


40 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


have the same powers as he himself had, and should become the head 
man of the village. ‘To this the Coyote would not consent; for he 
knew how cruelly the man had treated the people who visited the chief. 
The Coyote took a rest for a while, and the other man spoke to the 
people, saying that the Coyote should not be in a hurry to kill him. 
The man was not going to offer his life to anyone, and so he went into 
the air. This man was Shadow-of-the-Sun (Ihakaatskada). The chief 
spoke to the Coyote and asked him why he had not killed the man 
before he got away. The Coyote asked to have his large bow and arrow 
brought to him. They brought his bow and arrow. He then went 
to the place where the man was sitting, and looking up, he shot his 
large arrow. He then told the people to look up once in a while in 
the direction in which the other man had disappeared. All at once 
the people got to stirring around and saying that something was com- 
ing down. They could just barely see it coming, but finally it came 
closer and closer, until it hit the ground. The Coyote then ordered 
the people to bring wood to that place. The people went for the wood 
and each one brought an armful and placed it on top of this man’s 
body. The Coyote cut a stick with the sharp stone that he had for his 
knife, and set fire all around the body and burned it. When the body 
was burning he would poke the fire with the stick that he had cut, and 
to those that this man thad before killed as he had tried to kill the 
Coyote, he said, “Your house (body) is burning.” So one after another 
of the men jumped out, and there were a great many men saved. 

After the fire went out, the chief who owned this village took the 
Coyote back home and made him one of the head men and gave his 
sister to him for a wife, because he had destroyed the cruel man. Of 
course, the Coyote was fine-looking, and so he was glad to marry the 


chief’s sister. He lived here for a while. The people noticed that every er 


morning the Coyote went out to take the Buffalo by the horns and 
jerked it, and then this shield would appear; and that he would re- 
main outside and command his arrows to go out hunting, by shooting 
them in each of the four directions, until they had brought the buffalo 
to where he was, when he would call his wife to butcher them. On 
this account everybody liked the Coyote. One night some one carried 
off one of the Coyote’s arrows. The arrow, having life in it, spoke out 
to the rest of the arrows, saying that he was being carried off to an- 
other place. Tihe Coyote said to his brother-in-law that some one had 
stolen one of his arrows. This arrow was brought back to him, and 
he said that no one of his arrows could be stolen without his knowledge 
of it. Every morning the people gathered around this man’s tipi, look- 


THE COYOTE AND HIS MAGIC SHIELD AND ARROWS. Al 


ing at the Buffalo that the Coyote called his shield, and they knew 
that he was a wonderful man. After a time he decided that he would 
let more of the people see his shield. He let the Buffalo stand there 
until the sun got up high, but the Buffalo began to back up and get 
angry. The Coyote finally stepped out and tried to do the same as he 
had always done, but failed. Before this his arrows got to talking 
among themselves and to the Coyote, saying that his children’s and 
wife’s food was nearly exhausted, and that they wished he would go 
back home. The Coyote would not pay any attention to them, for he 
had a good wife here and was content. When he let the people see 
the Buffalo, and when the Buffalo got angry with him, all of his arrows 
and bow left him alone, and let the Buffalo fight him. The Buffalo 
became so angry and fought so hard that he killed the Coyote. After 
he was killed ‘he was changed into just an ordinary coyote, as he had 
been before. His wife and children starved to death. The people 
gathered around him and took his body and carried it off to another 
place outside of the village. 

All the stories about the Coyote show that he always met men who 
could give him powers to do certain things, so that it would be easier 
for ‘him to live and hunt; but he would always do wrong and have his 
powers ‘taken away from him. In these times, any being who was as 
cruel as Shadow-of-the-Sun was killed, but always lived again, but 
would have less powers. So at all the times there were Wicked people 
among the good. 


4. THE COYOTE AND HIS MAGIC SHIELD AND ARROWS.* 


The Coyote (Ketox) was once living out by himself with his 
family. There were no other people living near them. The Coyote 
wandered around looking for all kinds of game to feed his family. 
Early one morning he fixed himself up and resolved to go somewhere. 
He started out towards the west. As he went along, after having 
traveled a long way (and he was a fast traveler) he came to a tipi. 
He thought to himself: “I must first go and visit my partner” 
(naawada). The Coyote frequently used this word. As he went 
near the place he saw a large Buffalo standing out by the side of the 
tipi, and he was afraid to go near. The Swallow (Widtisgecha), the 
man that was living in the tipi, came out, and with his right hand 
grabbed the Buffalo by the hair between the horns and shook it, and 


*Told by Ignorant-Woman (Man) (Towakoni). 


42 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


there was no more a Buffalo, but a shield. Swallow then went into the 
tipi. The Coyote observed what the Swallow had done. He then ap- 
proached and entered ‘the tipi of the Swallow, who asked him if he was 
hungry. The Coyote said, “Of course I am hungry.” Then the 
Swallow gave him something to eat. The Coyote noticed that the 
Swallow was fine-looking. When the Swallow spit, his spittle was blue 
instead of white. ‘The Coyote also noticed that he had inside of his 
mouth a greenish-blue color. He also noticed that he had many thing's 
that he ‘himself wanted. The Swallow told him to eat all he wanted 
and that he could take what meat he could pack on his back to his 
family, if he had a family. The Coyote said he had a family. He then 
asked the Swallow if he could not give him some powers. The Swallow 
asked the Coyote if he was brave. The Coyote said that he knew of 
no braver man. The Swallow told the Coyote to take home to his 
family the meat, then come back and he would equip him with the 
things as he wished. The Coyote then got what meat he wanted and 
took it on home to his family, and said: “I have now found a way so 
that you young ones and my old woman need never more go hungry.” 
He told his family to go ahead and eat what they wanted, and that he 
had to go and see the Swallow. He then set out to go to the Swallow’s 
place, and when he got there the Swallow asked him if he was a good 
runner. The Coyote said that he could run pretty fast. The Swallow 
told him to go towards the south until he came to a high point, and 
there he would find four large Buffalo bulls sitting down. “As soon as 
you get there,” said the Swallow, “point to one of the Buffalo and 
tell him that you want him, then turn right back and the Buffalo will 
follow you.” The Coyote started out for the high point, which was as 
far away as he could see. The Coyote traveled pretty fast and finally 
reached the high point. There he saw four large Buffalo sitting down. 
He called one of them, then turned right back and he saw the Buffalo 
coming after him. The Coyote had to run with all his might to prevent 
the Buffalo from catching up with him before he got back to the Swal- 
low’s place. The Buffalo kept gaining on him, and when he reached 
the place he was pretty nearly tired out. Now he was safe, and the 
Swallow told him that he was a pretty good runner. The Swallow 
then went with the Coyote to catch the Buffalo. He told the Coyote 
to walk up to the Buffalo and grab him between the horns. The Buf- 
falo began to get angry and would go backwards and forwards, but the 
Swallow said that he would not be harmed, and that he must go 
through that ordeal if he would get a shield. The Coyote finally walked 
up and did as directed, and there it was, a:‘shield. He took the shield, as 


THE COYOTE AND HIS MAGIC SHIELD AND ARROWS. 43 


instructed by the Swallow, and threw it up on the pole,and there it hung. 
The Swallow then told the Coyote to go out into the timber and cut 
four of the finest dogwood sticks he could find, from which to make 
arrows and a bow. The Coyote went out in the timber and cut the 
sticks, and when he brought them in they were prepared for him. When 
they were completed the Swallow instructed the Coyote how to handle 
his shield, bow, and arrows. Said he: “You see for yourself that your 
shield and bow and arrows have lives in them, the same as you have. 
The way to keep the shield, whether at home or away from home is to 
hang it ona pole. You must not forget this. In the morning you will 
see a Buffalo standing outside. You must then do as I tell you. Do 
not allow the sun to get too high before you put up the shield. As soon 
as the sun rises put it up.” The Coyote said: ‘I can do that all right. 
I am too old to forget a simple thing.” Said the Swallow: “In using 
the bow and arrows out hunting, all you have to do is to go a little 
way from home and shoot one arrow in one direction, another in another 
direction, the next in another way and the fourth in still another way, 
then remain where you are until they all come.back to you. When 
they are coming back the arrows will talk to one another, telling what 
kind of a buffalo they have killed, and the buffalo will be brought to you 
instead of your having to go after them. The arrows will remain in 
whatever place they land on the buffalo. It is your place to take them 
off and clean them. Then you can butcher the buffalo and your family 
can have all the meat they want.’ After the shield, bow, and arrows 
were given to the Coyote he went to the nearest flowing water and looked 
for the deepest place. When he had found it the Swallow took hold 
of him and threw him into the water. When he came out of the water 
the Swallow said: “You are now just like me.” The Coyote, just to 
prove it, spat, and his spittle was blue. The Coyote was satisfied and 
both of them went back to the Swallow’s tipi, and the Coyote was per- 
mitted to go to his home. 

On his arrival his wife and children did not know him. He told his 
family that he was the same old man, but that he had got powers from 
the Swallow. ‘The Coyote asked his wife to cut him a pole to hang his 
shield on. The Coyote’s wife did as she was told to do and the Coyote 
hung up his shield. He then called his wife, and said: “You need never 
_go hungry any more, for I now have powers to kill what game we 
want.” ‘The old woman said to him, “Whatever powers you have, do 
as you are told and make no mistake.” “Oh, no,” said the Coyote, 
“you need not worry about my making a mistake; I am too old to do 
anything like that.’ ‘That night the Coyote waited patiently for 


44 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


daylight to come. Just about daylight the Coyote went out to send out 
his arrows to hunt. He went out a little way, as he was told to do, be- 
fore he sent his arrows to hunt. There he waited for a while and finally 
he sent his arrows out to hunt. He soon heard them talking to one 
another, telling how fat and how large was the buffalo they had killed. 
Finally all his arrows came in, each carrying a whole buffalo. The 
Coyote then pulled out all his arrows and cleaned them as he had been 
directed. He went back to his home and put up his bow and arrows 
-and commenced to butcher the buffalo. While the was doing this the 
sun rose, and the old woman and the young ones all got up, and as they 
went out they were afraid of the buffalo that was standing at their 
door, and they ran back into their tipi. As soon as he heard the folks 
screaming the Coyote saw the buffalo and went right up to it. He 
grabbed it between its horns and there was no more a buffalo, but a 
shield. He pitched it up on the pole and it hung there. The Coyote 
then told his family to come out. When they came out they told him 
that there was a buffalo standing at their door, and the Coyote told 
them that it was ‘his shield. Now they went where the Coyote was 
butchering. The Coyote was nearly through, and when he got through 
they commenced to bring the beef into the lodge. They had all the 
meat they wanted. The Coyote continued this right along every morn- 
ing. Finally they had plenty of fresh meat and some dried meat. The 
old woman then had to put up a drying arbor for the meat. 

The Coyote now began to think about going on a visit to some 
strange place, that he might be seen somewhere else, instead of staying 
at home all the time. While he had this in mind he kept on killing 
buffalo, so that ‘his family would have enough meat until his return. 
Some time after, he told his family that he was going on a visit for 
a while, for they had enough meat to last until he should return. The 
Coyote set out to the tipi of the Swallow. On his arrival he told the 
Swallow that he was going out on a visit for a while, for he was tired of 
staying in one place all the time. The Swallow told the Coyote not to 
stay too long. The Coyote then said that he had enough meat at home 
for his family to live on during his absence. The Swallow told him that 
his arrows would let him know when the meat at home was all gone; 
that then he must at once return. The Coyote said, “All right, I will 
come whenever they tell me about that.” The Coyote then started 
out on his journey. While on the way he saw some one coming. He 
thought the would find out who it was and finally he met the man. 
The Coyote saw that he was a fine-looking man, and this man had 
a large bow and a large arrow with a blunt point. He commenced 


THE COYOTE AND HIS MAGIC SHIELD AND ARROWS. 45 


to make fun of the man’s arrow. He asked him if he could kill any- 
thing with it. The man said that he could. The Coyote asked why he 
did not have arrows like his, saying that if he just had arrows like his 
he would think that he had good arrows. The Coyote told the man that 
‘the arrow was too heavy to go very far. The man told the Coyote 
that his arrow could go as far as his arrow could go, and perhaps 
further. This the Coyote could not believe. He then said, “What if 
you should shoot at me? Would you kill me?” The man said, “The 
anrow could find you and overtake you wherever you might be, and it 
might kill you.” The Coyote*laughed, and said: “Well, I will go off 
to some distance and let you shoot at me to show me that your arrow 
can go far.” The man told the Coyote that he did not want to kill 
him. But the Coyote kept coaxing the man to go ahead. He finally 
persuaded him to shoot at him. The Coyote went a good long way 
off, then stood facing the man, who shot at the Coyote. The Coyote 
heard the arrow coming and ran toward the man and the arrow over- 
took him before he got to the man and struck him in the arms. The 
man went to where the Coyote was lying dead, kicked his feet and 
told him to get up. The Coyote got up, rubbed his eyes, and said, 
“T was sound asleep.” The man asked the Coyote if his arrow had 
hit him. The Coyote said: “O yes, it hit me. That is. a good arrow of 
yours.” The Coyote then asked the man if he could let him have the 
arrow. He also asked him who he was. The man told him that he 
was the Sun (Sakida). The Coyote said, “O, is that who you are?” 
The man gave the Coyote the arrow and his bow. The Coyote told 
the Sun that he was going out on a visit, and he wanted to be better 
equipped for meeting danger, to be ready to meet all troubles, for 
there was a good many bad people that he might happen to meet. 
~The Coyote then left the Sun and went on to tthe village. On his 
arrival he asked where visitors were allowed to stay. He was then 
told to go straight to the largest and highest tipi in the center of 
the village and there he would find a chief and would be allowed to 
stay there. So the Coyote followed his directions until he got to the 
chief’s place. He left his shield outside and was asked to be seated 
on the west side of the tipi. He was asked where he had come from 
and he replied that he» had come from afar and was tired. He told 
the chief to have some one cut him a pole so that he could hang up 
his shield. The Coyote was given something to eat right away, for the 
chief knew that he was’wonderful. The Coyote stayed all that night, 
and early the next morning the people that were up in the village 
saw at the chief’s a large Buffalo standing right at the door. The 


46 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


people then howled at the people to come out to the Buffalo standing 
at the door, but the chief was smart enough to know that his visitor 
was wonderful, and he knew that it must be the shield that was hung 
up there. Before long, many other people saw the Coyote step out 
and grab the Buffalo between the horns and shake it and pitch it up 
to the top of the pole, and there was nothing but a shield. The people 
began to find out that the chief had a wonderful man visiting him. 
That day, news began to spread about this wonderful man visiting 
the chief’s place, and the people began to come to see the shield and 
the man. The Coyote felt prouder than ever, to have all the people 
in the village come around to see him. All the prominent men of the 
village came and stayed all that day, talking to him. The Coyote told 
them that the next morning he was going to give them all the meat 
they wanted. ‘The men finally retired and went to their homes, and 
there was a man selected to announce that the visitor had promised 
to give them food. Early the next morning the Coyote took his bow 
and arrows and went outside of the village and shot the arrows to 
every direction and waited there for a time. "This was pretty early, 
before anyone was up. Finally his arrows came around, the same as 
usual, talking to one another, and telling what kind of buffalo they 
had killed. The buffalo were laid before him. He took the arrows out 
and cleaned them, and at once he sent them off again to kill some 
more. Finally the arrows came back again, the same as usual, and 
again he took them out from the buffalo that they brought and sent 
them out the third time and the fourth time, then, having cleaned the 
arrows, he went back into the village. It was about sunrise. He went 
in and told the chief to have some one announce that he thad killed 
the buffalo and to have them go over there at once to butcher them. 
The chief sent out a man at once, and the Coyote went to hang up 
his shield. ‘There were many people there at this time, watching the 
Buffalo and waiting to see this wonderful man come out and hang up 
his shield. ‘The whole village was fed by the Coyote’s work. The 
chief now came to like the Coyote very well. He stayed at the village 
a good while and continued to perform his miracles right along. The 
chief liked the Coyote so well that he gave him his sister for a wife. 
The Coyote became the chief’s brother-in-law. The marrying of the 
chief’s sister caused him to get up late. Once upon a time while he 
was asleep his arrows woke him and told him that the people at home 
were running short of food and that he had better go on home; but 
the Coyote would not listen to them. That morning the got up still 
later, but he was yet able to hang up his shield. The next morning 


GREAT-SOUTH-STAR, PROTECTOR OF WARRIORS. A7 


his arrows tried to coax him to go home, and this time, his bow, his 
arrows, and all the other things he had got from the Sun ran away from 
him. The next morning he thought he had better wait until everybody 
should see the Buffalo before he should hang it up, for he thought he 
nad been hanging his shield too soon for everybody to see it. The sun 
_ tose higher and higher, and the Buffalo began to back off toward the 


_ north. When the Coyote thought everybody in the village was present 


he walked out of the chief’s place and went toward the Buffalo. At 
this time the Buffalo began to get angry. It commenced to throw up 
dirt and would hook the ground, but the Coyote was not afraid to 
go up to it. But the Buffalo was angry at the Coyote, and as he went 
near the Buffalo it came at him and hooked him and threw him up, and 
as he went up he was no more human, but a regular old coyote. The 
people then understood the secret of the whole thing, that the Coyote 
had obtained powers from some one and had disobeyed his instructions. 
After the Buffalo had killed the coyote it turned toward the north and 
ran away, and left the coyote’s body lying at the edge of the village. 
Since the Buffalo went north, that is where it is known to live. The 
chief of the village called on certain ones to announce to the people 
about moving their village. They moved away to the west and arrived 
at a place where they always lived thereafter. 


5. THE GREAT-SOUTH-STAR, THE PROTECTOR OF WARRIORS.* 


These are the names of the village where Healthy-Flint-Stone-Man 
(Tahadiidakotse) lived: Where-Blackbirds-lit-on-elm-Tree (Kasit- 
syukkari) ; Stone-Corn-Mills-lying-on-Hill-side( Nawishkatuk) ; Large 
elm-Tree-near-Fdge-of-the- Village (Taatstatschiaheichitiwa) ; and 
Where-large-Ears-of-Corn-grow (Tastasitiwa). He had a family which 
consisted of father, mother, sister, and wife. He was a great hunter 
and warrior. He had a good many followers who would go along with 
him, when he went out with any war-party against the Trickster 
(Kinas) people, who were then their enemies. He was so brave that 
the men knew that it was always safe for them to go along with him, 
for he always returned victorious. This was one reason people liked 
to be with him. Once upon a time when he knew that his wife was 
pregnant he began to instruct her as to how the child should be born. 
He told her that when the time should come for the child’s birth, the 
place where she was should be closed up and no one should be in there 


*Told by Towakoni Jim (Towakoni). 


48 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


but herself; that she should not open the door until after the child 
should be born; that the child must be called Young-Flint-Stone (Taha- 
dia) ; that she must not let him know where his father was until he 
should become old enough, for he himself was going to a far distant 
place, and be there ‘for all time ; that he was tired of going out to the old 
scenes of wars; and that he was going where he could be near his 
enemies. 

After telling all this he at once set out on a war expedition. Of 
course there were a good many followers who went along with ‘him. 
He went towards the south. He kept on going, and it took him so long 
that some of the older men died on the way, of old age, until he had but 
four men left. He kept on going until one of these gave out and then 
there were three with him. They kept on going until another gave out 
and this left with him but two men. Continuing their journey, another 
gave out, and this time there was left but one man along with him, and 
this man finally gave out and this left him alone to seek for himself a 
place to live, and he went on nearer to his enemies. He kept on until he 
found a high cave-like place, and this he made his permanent home, and 
there were his enemies near his new home. Here he lived for a long 
while. Whenever he felt like fighting he would go and attack his 
foes and cut off their heads. Being a man with great power there was 
never an arrow that could hit him. He secured a long pole, which he 
stuck up in front of his place, on which he hung the heads of his 
enemies. | 

The time came when his son was born, and he grew rapidly, and 
finally he got to be aman. The child of the Healthy-Flint-Stone-Man 
began to ask this mother if he had any father, and she told him that his 
father had gone away a long distance to live, and was never to return. 
One time the boy asked his mother to grind enough meal for ‘him to 
take along with him while he went out to look for his father. This was 
done, and the young man set out in search of his father. Young-Flint- 
Stone, being. famous like his father, traveled fast, and he found the 
trail of his father. He was on the road for a good while, until he ran 
on to one of the men who had given out. When he got near to this 
man, he found him too angry to see him, and the man asked why he had 
come around him. He then took out a handful of meal and put it in 
the man’s mouth, and then the man had to believe that it was some one 
from the village he himself had come from, and he said: “Oh, yes! 
This reminds me of being in Where-Blackbirds-lit-on-elm-Tree, or 
Stone-Corn-Mills-lying-on-Hill-side, or Large-elm-Tree-near-Edge-of- 
the-Village, or Where-large-Ears-of-Corn-grow.” Then the man said 


/ 


GREAT-SOUTH-STAR, PROTECTOR OF WARRIORS. 49 


to him: “You are Young-Flint-Stone. Keep going, and you will 
come to where your father lives.” So Young-Flint-Stone went on, and 
on, until he came to the next man, and this man was angry like the 
first one. But this made no difference with Young-Flint-Stone. He 
went up toward the man, and took out a handful of meal and put it in 
the man’s mouth. The man then replied, saying: “This reminds me 
of being in Where-Blackbirds-lit-on-elm-Tree, or, Stone-Corn-Mills- 
lying-on-Hill-side, or Large-elm-Tree-near-Edge-of-the-Village, or 
Where-large-Ears-of-Corn-grow. I am sure I can see the place in 
memory. Young-Flint-Stone, your father lives somewhere beyond, to 
the south. If you go that way you will meet another man, and he will 
give you more information about this place.” Young-Flint-Stone con- 
tinued his journey until he came to the next man, who was the third 
man he met after leaving home. This man also was angry at the sight 
of a stranger, because it had been such a long time since he had seen a 
human being. But Young-Flint-Stone went up to him and took out 
a handful of corn meal and put it in the man’s mouth, to show he was 
from the same village the man was from. When he had done this, the 
man threw back his head, and said: “This puts me in mind of being in 
Where-Blackbirds-lit-on-elm-Tree, or, Stone-Corn-Mills-lying-on-Hill- 
side, or, Large-elm-Tree-near-Edge-of-the-Village, or, Where-large- 
Ears-of-Corn-grow. You are Young-Flint-Stone. You are going to 
see your father. By keeping on you will come to another man, and 
there you can secure more information from him. He knows more 
about your father, for he is near to your father.” 

Young-Flint-Stone went on again, traveling fast, until he came to 
one whom he knew to be the last man whom he would meet before 
reaching his father’s place. When he made his appearance to this man 
the man was angry with him, for the reason that he had seen nobody 
for a long time, the Healthy-Flint-Stone-Man being the last man he 
had seen. Young-Flint-Stone went up to the man in order to show him 
that he lived at the same place the man had lived and which the man 
had left. He put a handful of meal into his mouth. The man threw 
back his head and laughed, and said: “Yes, this reminds me of being 
in Where-Blackbirds-lit-on-elm-Tree, or, Stone-Corn-Mills-lying-on- 
Hill-side, or, Large-elm-Tree-near-Edge-of-the-Village, or, Where- 
large-Ears-of-Corn-grow. . Well, Young-Flint-Stone, you came in 
search of your father. Your father lives down further south where he 
is near to his enemies. He surely has great powers and you will have 
many dangers to overcome before seeing him. You will have to sneak 
around to get to his dwelling place, for if he sees you before you get up 


50 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


there he will kill you. He lives on a high point. Sometimes he is out, 
and there are times when he goes to sleep. When you do get there 
he will try to kill you, for he allows no one to come to his place; and 
there are times when [| can hear him giving the war-whoop, when he 
goes out after his enemies.” Young-Flint-Stone went on, leaving this 
man after he had given him information regarding his father’s place 
and his habits and how cruel he was. He traveled on and on until he 
came to the place, and doing as he was instructed, he sneaked in, so 
as not to be seen. He finally succeeded in reaching the door, and en- 
tering, said to his father: “My father, I am now here in search of you.”’ 
Just as he said that, Healthy-Flint-Stone-Man arose on his feet, and 
said: “I can not believe you. I know I have a son, but he is so far 
away that he could never reach this place, and you are trying to play 
a trick on me.” He went to get his war-club, but Young-Flint-Stone 
got hold of him, saying, “I am your son.” But Healthy-Flint-Stone- 
Man began to push him around and tried to throw him, and he pushed 
Young-Flint-Stone away from him. Young-Flint-Stone had only one 
hand to use, for he had to use the other to get the corn meal sack, so as 
to put some meal into his father’s mouth. Young-Flint-Stone finally 
succeeded in untying his sack. He took out a handful of meal and put it 
in his father’s mouth. Healthy-Flint-Stone-Man asked Young-Flint- 
Stone to release him, threw his head back, and said: “O yes, that is 
the way everything tastes in the place I came from. This puts me in 
mind of being in the village of Where-Blackbirds-lit-on-elm-Tree, or 
Stone-Corn-Mills-on-Hill-side, or Large-elm-Tree-near-Edge-of-the- 
Village, or Where-large-ears-of-Corn-grow. You are surely my 
son. I left home when you were in your mother’s womb, and I gave you 
the name that you bear. Well, I am a good long way from home, and 
it suits me to. remain here all the time. When I lived there where you 
are from I had to send out war-parties, and had to go a long way, so 
that I thought that it would be best for me to be where I could be near 
my enemies, just as I am now. I was tired of going a long way. So 
this is what brought me here. I can not go back with you when you 
feel like going back.” Young-Flint-Stone, in looking at his father, saw 
that his hair was turning into flint stones. 

Healthy-Flint-Stone-Man was surprised to see Young-Flint-Stone. 
Young-Flint-Stone then remained with his father, who showed him all 
his powers, and where he went to fight his enemies. Young-Flint- 
Stone noticed a pole stuck up outside of his father’s place, on which 
there hung many skulls, old and fresh. The next morning Healthy- 
Flint-Stone-Man took Young-Flint-Stone along with him to help him 


GREAT-SOUTH-STAR, PROTECTOR OF WARRIORS. SI 


fight some of his enemies. They both went on down the hill, traveling 
all that morning, until they came to a village, and there they met 
their enemies. Young-Flint-Stone was the first one to kill a man, 
and the old man next, and then they turned and came on home. Young- 
Flint-Stone did not remain here very long. He was asked to re- 
turn home, for the people were looking for him to come home. Healthy- 
Flint-Stone-Man told him that it was very near time for the next gen- 
eration to come, and that the place where he was then would be known 
as the Protector-of-Warriors (Netskatcitikitawe). He told his son to 
tell the people that he had seen his father, and that he was there, never 
to return home, and that in the next generation he would be seen as 
the Great-South-Star ; and in the next generation, when any one sent out 
war-parties they should offer him smoke, and then he would take pity 
on whoever should make the offering, and give him good fortune of 
having an easy time in meeting enemies, and of always returning vic- 
torious. So Young-Flint-Stone was requested to take back with him 
a scalp for the man’s wife and father, mother, and sisters. Young- 
Flint-Stone then departed from his father with the scalp. 

On this way back he met the four men once more, and they asked 
the same as his father had done, that they might remain where they 
were, for it was so far from home and they were so old that they could 
never reach home. He traveled on, and on, and no. one knows how long 
it took him to reach home, but when he reached home he delivered the 
scalp to his people. The people were surprised to see him once more, 
for they knew it was not safe to be off as far as he had been from home. 
When the whole village heard of Young-Flint-Stone’s return they came 
about his place to see him, and to hear how he met his father. He then 
informed them what hard times he had had in traveling, and how he 
met the four men who were near to his father, and what they had said 
when he first met them on his way to see his father, and what hard times 
he had had introducing himself to this father, and how his father 
threatened his life when he met him, and how he accompanied his father 
on ithe war-path, and how the scalp was given by his father to be pre- 
sented to his people. The people then began to move away to their 
homes and the news spread about the boy’s visit to his father. When 
night came they had dances of all kinds in honor of Young-Flint-Stone 
and his father. So it is known that Young-Flint-Stone was the only 
person who ever went far enough south to see his father, the Protector- 
of-Warriors, and he was the last one ever to see him. 


52 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


Young-Flint-Stone then became a famous man, and as great a 
warrior as his father had been when he lived at the village. He would 
send out war-parties against his enemies, the Tricksters. Having such 
great war powers he would always be victorious and bring home with 
him many captives, as well as scalps. This was what made him a 
famous man. Young-Flint-Stone told all of his followers that the 
Great-South-Star was his father, whom he had once been to see. 
Whenever this Star was seen Young-Flint-Stone would offer his 
smoke to it, as he had been told to do by this Star, who was his father. 
It was not very long before Young-Flint-Stone called forth the people. 
When the people gathered around his lodge and were all present they 
asked him why he had called them forth. He replied that since he had 
been with the people he had been well cared for by the young men who 
were his friends and his warriors, and that since he had seen his father 
as a Star he himself thought that he had better be like his father. 
Young-Flint-Stone then waited until night. When darkness came he 
went out up to the sky and became Flint-Stone-lying-down-Above 
(Tahanetskitadidia). . 


6. THE GREAT-SOUTH-STAR, THE PROTECTOR OF WARRIORS.* 


There was a village named Large-elm-Tree-near-Edge-of-the- 
Village (Taatstatschiaheichitiwa), because there was a large elm tree 
at the edge of the village, where all the dances were had whenever the 
men came home from war. The village was also called Where-Black- 
birds-lit-on-Elm-Tree (Kasitsyukkari), or Stone-Corn-Mills-lying-on- 
Hill-side (Nawishkatuk), or Where-large-Ears-of-Corn-grow (Tas- 
tacitiwa). In this village was a man known as Wearing-Flint-Stone- 
on-top-of-Head (Tahadiidakotskitiwe), who afterwards became the 
Great-South-Star, as we call it. This man was famous in all ways. 
He was the leader of war-parties and had many followers who always 
followed him whenever he sent out war-parties. In his home his father 
was the chief of the village. He also had a mother and a sister. When 
he had become famous and a great warrior, his sister got married to a 
famous warrior. Once upon a time, before he undertook to leave 
home, his sister became pregnant. He told his sister that when the 
child should be born they should call him Fint-Stone-yelling-Boy 
(Tahanitsiaskase). He also said that this boy would follow the foot- 
steps of his uncle and be a great warrior. 


*Told by Towakoni Jim (Towakoni). 


GREAT-SOUTH-STAR, PROTECTOR OF WARRIORS. 53 


There came a time when he undertook to send out greater war- 
parties than had ever before been sent out. He called forth all his 
followers. When his followers came about, he told them that he would 
go out in a few days on an expedition, and that he would go towards 
the south, and that they should be ready at that time. When the time 
came, he set out on this great expedition. There were men who fol- 
lowed this main expedition, then traveled on and on, but never seemed 
to want to stop like other warriors, to send out spies, but kept on. 
When they had gone far away from home, some of the men turned 
back, and thereafter, every day, some more men would stop following 
their leader, for he was going too far. So finally all but four of the 
men had stopped, who thought that they would follow him until they 
should come to the end of their journey. But as they kept on going, 
one of these gave out, and had to stop, and when he stopped he found 
that he could not turn back, for his life was too short, and he knew that 
he could not get home. Having given out this man had to sit down and 
remain there for all time. The rest of them kept on going. Another 
man gave oyt, and he had to stop, for these other men were traveling 
faster at this time. The leader then told his last follower that the 
place to which they were directed was getting nearer. But this last 
man gave out, too, and had to stop. This man watched Wearing-Flint- 
Stone-on-Top-of-Head until he got clear out of sight. Wearing-Flint- 
Stone-on-Top-of-Head then found a place where he could live all alone. 
To live by himself was just what he wanted, for he was a single man. 
Near where he lived was a large village of enemies. He knew that 
he could have all the fun he wanted, for fighting was fun for him. 
Whenever he wanted to attack the village he would go down the hill 
from his home and he would fight the enemy, and this was the way he 
enjoyed life by himself. About this time there was born at his old 
home a nephew. His nephew grew fast, and he soon sent out war- 
parties, too. When he was old enough, the other men who followed 
him on his expeditions told him about his uncle. He was told that 
his uncle was down south somewhere; that he had once sent out a war- 
party and had never returned. Some time afterward, while the nephew 
was at home, he told his mother that he wanted to see his uncle; that 
he was going to that place, wherever it was; and that he was going 
to look for him, if it took him all of his life. So he told his mother 
to make him two pairs of moccasins and to grind some corn to take 
along for his uncle, to remind him of his old home. He said that if he 
could he would bring his uncle home. After these things were ready 
for him he took plenty of tobacco and other things that he had or- 
dered and at once set out. 


54 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


He was traveling alone, so he went fast, for he did not have to 
wait for any one. Some time afterward he came to the place where the 
four men had turned back, and he saw that there were but four men 
besides the one who had gone on further south. He kept on and on, 
until he came to one of the men who had given out. When he went 
near to this man, he found him to be pretty angry with him, for he 
was not used to seeing people. But the nephew told the man who he 
was, and that he had come a long way in search of them. But the 
man would not believe him, for he knew that the distance was too 
great for anyone to travel. So the nephew took out his pipe and made 
the man smoke his pipe. He lighted his pipe and gave it to the man. 
The man then took four puffs and then emptied the pipe. Then he 
drew back, and said: “O yes! It is a surprise to me to see some one 
come from my old home. This reminds me of being in my home in the 
village of Large-elm-Tree-near-Edge-of-the-Village, or Where-Black- 
birds-lit-on-elm-Tree, or Stone-Corn-Mill-lying-on-Hill-side, or Where- 
large-Ears-of-Corn-grow.” He then put a handful of meal into the 
man’s mouth. Then the man said: “Yes, that is just the way every- 
thing tastes back home, but I am so far away that I can not get back. 
But your uncle and his other followers went on, and you are now on 
the right road to them, and you will find another man further down, 
and he will tell you the same thing, and more, too.” ‘The nephew con- 
tinued his journey to his uncle’s place, and, as he went further, he 
came to another man sitting down and facing the south. When this 
man found that some one was coming, he was angry, too. But the 
nephew told the man that he had come from a long way, looking for 
them; and that he was the nephew to their leader. The man then re- 
plied, “Well, show me something, so that I may believe you, that I 
may know if you came from my home.” The nephew filled his pipe 
for the man to smoke, lighted it and gave it to him. The man puffed 
only four times, then emptied the pipe. He drew back, and said, “Well, 
this is the way the old home smoke tastes.” Then the nephew gave the 
man a handful of cornmeal, and the man said, “This reminds me of 
being in our old home in the village far to the north.” Of course, he 
also named the village names. The man then told him that this was 
as far as he had been able to go, and that he had often wished that he 
was back at his former home, but that he never could get there. The 
man told the nephew that his uncle was further south and that there 
was another man further south that could tell him more about his 
uncle. The man said that this also was as far as he could go. All this 
man would do was to sit up. So the young nephew noticed that the 
man ‘was about to turn into something. 


GREAT-SOUTH-STAR, PROTECTOR OF WARRIORS. 55 


The nephew continued his journey further south, with the ex- 
pectation of reaching his uncle. He came to another man, whom he 
supposed had followed his uncle, and this man was as angry as he 
could be when he was approached, but the nephew was ready to talk 
with him, telling ‘him that he was from their home village and was on 
his way to his uncle’s place. But this man would not believe him, for 
it was too far for anyone to travel. Then this man told the nephew to 
show him something, so that he could believe him. The nephew filled 
his pipe full of tobacco and offered it to the man to smoke, and he took 
but four puffs, then emptied the pipe. He also gave the man some of 
the corn meal, and got a handful of it and poured it into the man’s 
mouth. The man drew back, and said: “Yes, that is just the way 
everything tastes at our home village. I often think of my old home 
and wish J were there, but I can not get there; my life is too short for 
me to return ‘home, but you go on and you will find one more man on 
the road, who, I think, is in the same condition I am in, because there 
ar2 two more further north who gave out, and I gave out, too. So 
surely there must be another man down further to the south.” 

So the young nephew went further south, leaving this man be- 
hind. Of course, he traveled faster, in order that he might find his 
uncle sooner. As he went further south he came to another man, 
whom he supposed to be another of his uncle’s followers. As soon as 
this man found out that some one was coming he was as angry as he 
could be. He was like the other men—he could not move, but could 
only shake his head. The nephew told him that he was from his old 
home, far away to the north; that he had come in search of them and 
his uncle, who was leading the great war-party. But this man said, 
“No! No! You can not be the one, for it is too far for anyone to 
come to look for us.” The nephew then asked the man if he remem- 
bered his leader’s sister, saying that he himself was the son of the 
sister of this great war leader of his. The man then told the nephew 
to show him something from their distant home. The nephew filled 
his pipe and the man smoked it, then drew back and said: “Yes, you 
are from that village, my former home. That is the same old smoke 
that I used to smoke among my home people of that village that you 
recently came from.” Again he took a handful of the corn meal and 
put it into the man’s mouth, and when this was put in his mouth, he 
said, “Yes! That is just the way everything tastes in my village far 
to the north.” The man, of course, named the names of the village. 
It was a surprise to the man that he should see some one who had 
come from a place so far away. So he said: “Well, my boy, you are 


56 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


now right close to your uncle’s place. Often I hear him yell on quiet 
days whenever he goes after his enemies, although it is a long way 
from here to his place.” ‘This man gave the young nephew instruc- 
tions how to get there safe. The nephew was told to be sure and get 
there while his uncle was asleep; that his uncle generally slept at noon, 
and by getting there at that time of the day he would be safe, but he 
was not safe yet. Said the man: “If you are not strong enough your 
uncle is going to kill you. On the morning after you make it all right 
with your uncle, he is going to take you to his enemies and attack 
the village with you, and if you do not run fast enough, after the goes 
through the village, he is going to kill you.” The young man thought 
that his uncle was perhaps getting old, and he, being younger, could 
outdo him in everything. The man then said that the uncle was chang- 
ing from what he used to be and was about to turn into something else; 
that his head was covered with flint stones instead of hair. 

The nephew thought he had better go on. So he went on, until 
he came to a high point whereon he had been told that his uncle lived. 
It was then about noon and he knew that his uncle was sound asleep 
about that time. As he went around he noticed the door facing east, 
and there he saw a long pole stuck up, and on it there was a long string 
of scalps. He then entered the place where his uncle was asleep. As 
the nephew entered, his uncle awoke. He got hold of his uncle, telling 
him that he had come, but his uncle said: “You do not need to tell 
me that you are my nephew, for my nephew can not come down this 
far to see me. You are trying to fool me.” So they wrestled there 
for a good while, and while they were doing this the young man was 
trying to get some corn meal into his uncle’s month, to show him that 
he was from the village where he once lived, and he finally succeeded 
in doing so. Then the uncle said: “Sure enough, you are from that 
village that I used to live in, and you prove to be my nephew. Yes, 
this reminds me of being in my old home in the far north, where the 
village is called ‘Large-elm-Tree-near-Edge-of-the-Village,’ or ‘Where- 
Blackbirds-lit-on-elm-Tree,’ or ‘Stone-Corn-Mill-lying-on-Hill-side,’ or 
‘Where-large-Ears-of-Corn-grow.’ Now then do something else that 
the people do at that village.” Again he filled his pipe with tobacco 
and gave it to his uncle, who took the pipe and took four puffs, then 
emptied the pipe, and said, “Oh, yes! That is the way the old home 
smoke tastes.”’ 

The uncle then said: “I came down this far because I wanted 
to be near to my enemies, where I would not have to go so far to look 
for them. Well, nephew, I guess you are as good as I was back in 
our home, in leading war-parties. I suppose you do the same things 


GREAT-SOUTH-STAR, PROTECTOR OF WARRIORS. 57 


I used to do. Everybody thought well of me, but I undertook to come 
down here and not live with our people any more, so here I am, out 
by myself, and I am that much better off, for I like this way of living.’’ 
The nephew stayed the entire day, until the next morning, when 
his uncle told him to accompany him and attack the enemy’s village. 
So they went on, and when they made the attack they both ran, and 
the nephew was far ahead of his uncle. As they ran into the village 
the people began to run, but this nephew went on through them and 
got after one that was ahead of all the rest and who had white hair 
dyed with red dye. He killed this man, took his scalp, and turned back. 
He then met his uncle, who told him he was as good a warrior as he 
himself, so they went back to his home. When they arrived home the 
uncle began to tell his nephew all about his powers, for he was never 
going to return home. The uncle began to tell him what to tell all 
those who were once his followers; that sometimes when they should 
think of him while out on the war-path he would take pity on them 
and carry them through, for it was near time for the world to change, 
so that there would be nothing but human beings doing this, and others 
who had these powers would turn into something else and not have 
the same powers that they had had when existing as human beings. 
So he offered powers to the generations to come, but not so: great as 
the powers that he had. He also told his nephew that he must always 
remember when going through Leader-of-War ceremonies—that is, 
the smoke ceremonies—that they must surely offer him some of the 
smoke, in order that he might help them. So he told his nephew that 
when he should get home he was to tell the people that he was still 
alive and that he was to be seen by them and by other generations to 
come. ‘This meant that he was to become the Great-South-Star, and 
be known as having great powers of foretelling things in case of war. 
So the name he afterwards bore was given by the people. His real 
name was Wearing-Flint-Stone-on-Top-of-Head. After he went to 
where he was now he was called “Protector-of-Warriors” (Netskat- 
citikitawe), or Having-Powers-to-watch-out-for-War-Expeditions. 
After staying with his uncle for a while, his uncle presented him 
with a scalp that was on the pole where the scalps were hung; it had 
red hair, like the one the nephew had, and it was turning white. This 
he was to give to his mother. At this time, the nephew made up his 
mind to go home. He told his uncle that he wanted to go home. He 
then went on home, and when he passed the four men again they told 
him that they could not get home, for their life was too short. So he 
went home, traveling day and night, in order to get home in haste. 


58 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


The nephew finally reached home and presented the scalp given by 
his uncle, to his mother. At this time, when nights came this great 
bright Star was seen, and this Star, he told the people, was his uncle, 
whom they used to have for a leader. Of course, when he arrived home 
the crowds began to gather around his dwelling place when they heard 
about his return. He then told about his long trip to his uncle’s place 
and how he met his uncle’s followers, what they had said on giving 
them smoke and corn meal; also how he met his uncle and how his life 
was threatened, and how he came out safely after giving him smoke 
and corn meal; how he went to fight his uncle’s enemies and what kind 
of a scalp he ‘had secured when fighting his uncle’s enemies. The peo- 
ple saw the scalp that was presented to his mother by his uncle. This 
kind of a scalp was hard to get. So afterwards, he showed other men 
his powers that had been given him by his uncle, and since that time 
his powers still exist. The ceremonies of the expeditions and songs 
are still sung by the people of the present time, and the ceremonies are 
carried on the same as in those times, whenever the songs are sung. 
Flint-Stone-yelling-Boy then told the people that he would do as his 
uncle had done—become something else, after he had shown all his 
powers to all men who were his followers. That night he was seen 
ascending into the sky, and he became a Star. But the village still ex- 
isted, though some of the people became something else. 


¢. THE GREAT-SOUTH-STAR, THE PROTECTOR OF WARRIORS.* 


There was once a village by the name of Where-Blackbirds-lit- 
on-elm-Tree (Kasitsyukkari), or Stone-Corn-Mills-lying-on-Hill-side 
(Nawishkatuk), or Large-elm-Tree-near-Edge-of-the-Village (Taats- 
tatschiaheichitiwa), or Where-large-Ears-of-Corn-grow (Tastacitiwa), 
and in the village there lived a man by the name of Protector-of-War- 
riors (Netskatcitikitawe). He had a family consisting of father, 
mother, sisters, and wife. He himself was a great hunter and warrior 
and ‘had a good many followers, who would go along with him on the 
war-path against the Tricksters (Kinas), his enemies. His followers 
always knew they were safe with him, for he never returned except 
victorious, and this is the reason they liked to go with him. 

Once upon a time, when Protector-of-Warriors knew his wife to 
be pregnant, he began to instruct her as to how the child should be 
born: The place they were in should be closed, and no one should 


*Told by Kill-Enemy (Woman) (Towakoni). 


GREAT-SOUTH-STAR, PROTECTOR OF WARRIORS. 59 


be allowed to enter; the door should not be opened until after the child 
should be born; she should not allow the child to know where his father 
was until he should get to be of the proper age, for he (the father) 
was going to a distant place, to be there for all time, so that he might 
thereafter be near his enemies, for he was tired of going a long way 
to find them. After giving these instructions he set out on the war- 
path with his followers. He went towards the south. He kept on 
going until one of the men gave out, and there were three left. He 
went on again, and another gave out and there were two left. He 
went on again, another gave out, and there was one left. He went on 
again, and the last one gave out and then he was left alone. He kept 
on, looking for a place to live, where he would be near his enemies. He 
came to a high cave-like place, and this he made his permanent home. 
Here he lived for a long time, near his enemies. Whenever the Pro- 
tector-of-Warriors felt like fighting he would attack his foes and cut 
off their heads, for he was a wonderful man, who could not be hit 
with an arrow. He had a long pole, which he stuck up in front of his 
place, upon which he might hang the heads of his enemies. 

The time finally came when the Protector-of-Warriors’ son was 
born. The child grew rapidly and finally became a man; his name was 
Young-Flint-Stone (Tahadia). Young-Flint-Stone began to ask his 
mother if he had any father. She told him that:his father had gone a 
long distance to live and was never to return; so he asked his mother 
to grind meal enough for him to take along with him while he went 
out to look for his father. This was done, and Young-Flint-Stone, 
being wonderful like his father, traveled fast and found his father’s 
trail. When he had been on the journey a good while he came to one 
of the men who had given out. When he came near him the man was 
too angry to see him, and asked why he should come around near him. 
Young-Flint-Stone then took out a handful of meal and put it in the 
man’s mouth; then he believed that Young-Flint-Stone must be some 
one from the same village he himself had come from, and said, “O yes, 
this reminds me of being in Where-Blackbirds-lit-on-elm-Tree, or 
Stone-Corn-Mills-lying-on-Hill-side, or Large-elm-Tree-near-Edge-of- 
the-Village, or Where-large-Ears-of-Corn-grow. Young-Flint-Stone, 
by keeping on going you will reach the place where your father lives.” 
Young-Flint-Stone went on, and on, until he came to the next man who 
had given out, who, like the first, was very angry at being approached ; 
but this made no difference to Young-Flint-Stone. He went up toward 
him, took out a handful of meal and put it in his mouth, and the 
man said: “This reminds me of being in Where-Blackbirds-lit-on-elm- 


60 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


Tree, or Stone-Corn-Mills-lying-on-Hill-side, or Large-elm-Tree-near- 
Edge-of-the-Village, or Where-large-Ears-of-Corn-grow, which I still 
hold in memory. The Protector-of-Warriors, your father, lives some- 
where beyond here, to the south. By going on you ‘will meet another 
man.” Young-Flint-Stone went on and came to the third man who 
had given out, and he was angry, not having seen a human being for 
a long time. But Young-Flint-Stone went up to him and took a hand- 
ful of meal and put it in the man’s mouth. The man drew his head 
back, and said, smiling: “This puts me in mind of being at Where- 
Blackbirds-lit-on-elm-Tree, or Stone-Corn-Mills-lying-on-Hill-side, or 
Large-elm-Tree-near-Edge-of-the-Village, or Where-large-Fars-of- 
Corn-grow. Young-Flint-Stone, you are going to see your father. 
You will come to another man, and there you can secure more informa- 
tion from him. He knows more about your father, for he is nearer to 
him.” So Young-Flint-Stone traveled fast, until he came to the man 
whom he knew to be the last one who had given out. The man was 
angry because Young-Flint-Stone came around where he was, but 
Young-Flint-Stone went boldly up to him and put a handful of meal 
into his mouth. The man drew back his head, laughed, and said: ‘Yes, 
this puts me in mind of being at Where-Blackbirds-lit-on-elm-Tree, or 
Stone-Corn-Mills-lying-on-Hill-side, or Large-elm-Tree-near-Edge-of- 
the-Village, or Where-large-Kars-of-Corn-grow. Well, Young-Flint- 
Stone, you have come in search of your father, who lives further south, 
near to his enemies. He surely had great powers, and to go and see 
him you will have to sneak around to get to his lodge, for if he sees 
you before you get up there he will kill you. He lives at that high 
point; sometimes he is out, and then there are times when he goes to 
sleep. When you get there he will try to kill you, for he allows no one 
to come to his place. There is a time when I can hear him giving a 
war-whoop, when he goes out after his enemies. Now you may go on.” 
So Young-Flint-Stone went on, after he had gained the information 
regarding his father’s habits and lodge. He traveled on and on, sneak- 
ing so as not to be seen, as he had been instructed, until he came to the 
place where his father was. 

He finally succeeded in reaching the door of the lodge, and on 
entering, said to his father, “My father, I am now here in search of 
you.” Just as he said that, the Protector-of-Warriors rose on his feet 
and said: “I can not believe it. I know I have a son, but as far away 
from here as he is, I can not believe he could ever reach this place. 
You are trying to play me a trick.” Then he went for his war-club. 
Young-Flint-Stone got hold of his father and said to him, “I am your 


GREAT-SOUTH-STAR, PROTECTOR OF WARRIORS. 61 


son, Young-Flint-Stone.” His father then began to push him around 
towards his war-club. Then Young-Flint-Stone pushed his father away 
from it, but his father kept pushing him towards it, still believing some 
one was trying to trick him. Young-Flint-Stone finally succeeded in 
untying the sack, and he took out a handful of meal and put it into his 
father’s mouth. Then his father asked him to loose him, and throwing’ 
his head back, said: “O, yes; that is the very thing; it tastes just 
like what they had where I came from; this puts me in mind of Where- 
Blackbirds-lit-on-elm-Tree, or Stone-Corn-Mills-lying-on-Hill-side, or 
Large-elm-Tree-near-Edge-of-the-Village, or Where-large-Ears-of- 
Corn-grow. Surely you are my son. When I left her, you were still 
in your mother’s womb and I gave you the name you bear. Well, I 
am a good long way from home, and it just suits me to remain here. 
All the time I lived at the place you are from I had to go a long way 
with war-parties, and so I thought it to be best for me to be where I 
am now. I can not go back with you.” Young-Flint-Stone noticed that 
his father’s hair was turning into flint-stone, and he noticed the pole 
that was stuck up outside his father’s place, which had on it many 
skulls, old and fresh. 

Next morning the Protector-of-Warriors insisted that Young- 
Flint-Stone should go with him to help him fight some of his enemies. 
They both went down the hill, traveled all that morning, until they 
came to a village, and there they met their enemies. Young-F'lint- 
Stone was the first one to kill a man, when his father also killed a man, 
then they turned and came home with the scalps. Young-Flint-Stone 
did not remain here very long before his father asked him to return 
home, for the folks were looking for him to come home. The Protector- 
of-Warriors said: “It is very near time for the next generation to come, 
and, where I am, I will be known as the Protector-of-Warriors. Tell 
the people that I am here, never to return, and that I shall be seen 
as the South-Star; and in the next generation, when anyone sends 
out a war-party they shall make their offering of smoke, and then, if 
I take pity on whoever offers the smoke, he shall receive good fortune, 
easy times in meeting enemies, and shall always return victorious, like 
other people when I was living.” He then asked Young-Flint-Stone 
to take back with him a scalp to his wife and father’s mother, and his 
sisters. Young-Flint-Stone then departed from his father, and as he 
passed the men who had given out along the way they said that they 
would like to remain where they were. He traveled on and on, and 
no one knew how long it took him to reach home, but he finally ar- 
rived with the scalps, which he delivered to his folks for the Protector- 


62 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


of-Warriors. The folks were surprised to see him; for they knew 
that it was not safe for anyone to go so far away from home as he 
had gone. _ 

When everybody had heard of Young-Flint-Stone’s return they 
came to see him, and asked how he met his father. He then told them 
about the hard times he had had traveling, the four men who were 
near to his father, what they had said when he first met them on his 
way to see his father, how his father threatened to take his life, how 
he accompanied his father in a fight with the enemies in that part of 
the country, how he and his father secured scalps, what length of time 
he had remained there with his father, and about the scalp that was 
to be presented to his folks. Young-Flint-Stone showed the people 
the scalp that he had brought. When the people heard the news that 
Young-Flint-Stone had brought they began to move away to their 
homes, and the news of his return spread. When night came they had 
dances of all kinds, in honor of Young-Flint-Stone and his father. So 
it is known that Young-Flint-Stone is the only person who ever went 
far enough south to see his father, and he was the last one who ever saw 
him. Young-Flint-Stone then got to be a famous man, a great war- 
rior like his father had been while he lived at the village. He would 
send out war-parties against his enemies, the Tricksters, and with the 
great powers he had he was always victorious and brought home with 
him many captives, as well as scalps. This was what made him a 
famous man. 

At this time the South-Star could be seen, so Young-Flint-Stone 
told all his followers that the star was his father, whom he once went 
to see. Thereafter, whenever this star was in sight, Young-Flint- 
Stone would offer smoke to it, as he had been instructed by his father, 
who was now the Star itself. It was not very long before Young-Flint- 
Stone called forth the people, who gathered around his place. They 
asked him why he had called them forth, and he replied that since he 
had been well cared for by his young men friends and his warrior 
friends, and had seen his father as a Star, he thought he had better 
be like his father was at this time. Young-Flint-Stone then waited 
until night, and when darkness came he went up into the sky and be- 
came a star, which we call “Flint-Stone-lying-down-above” (Tahanet- 
skitadidia). 


THE SEVEN BROTHERS AND THE WOMAN. 63 


uv 


8. THE SEVEN BROTHERS AND THE WOMAN.* 


In the time of the story, there were several villages, and in these 
villages there was always a head man or chief. In one of these villages 
there was a head man, who had a wife. Now, at this time there were 
all kinds of people living, good people and bad people, and there were 
people who had great powers of all kinds. There was a certain per- 
son who had the power to change his looks, so that sometimes he would 
appear to be a young man, and at other times an old, ugly man. His 
name was Mixed-Timber (Kilakilakawi). One time Mixed-Timber 
started for the village where the chief lived, expecting to carry off his 
wife. On arriving at this place, he changed his looks so that he ap- 
peared to be a young man. Late in the evening he reached the chief's 
place. When the chief’s wife stepped out to bring in wood for the 
fire she saw a man standing in front of her. When she stepped out 
of the tipi she noticed a fragrant odor; this came from Mixed-Timber. 
She started to see who he was, and the man kept backing off, and the 
woman kept following him, until they reached the end of the village. 

She found that she could not turn back any more, but had to con- 
tinue following this man. ‘They went outside of the village, and Mixed- 
Timber stopped to tell the woman that he had made a long journey 
for her; then they started off toward the west, traveling all that night, 
until the next night, when they stopped to rest and sleep. When they 
stopped to rest, the woman was told to lie down at a certain place. The 
man lay down in another place. Next day they continued their jour- 
ney until darkness came, when they stopped again. The woman lay 
down again at a certain distance from Mixed-Timber, and at times she 
wondered why they did not lie together. The next day they started again 
to the place where they were going, and as far as the woman could 
see, she saw something in sight. As they came nearer to it, it changed 
into the shape of a lodge, and they finally reached the place, and the 
woman was told not to go in until bidden. She was finally asked in 
harsh words to enter. In the room there was an old, ugly man, sitting 
by the fireplace. ‘There was also the mother of Mixed-Timber. After 
a while, the old man, who was Mixed-Timber, asked for something to 
eat, and he was given some meat. His mother, and also the woman 
he had brought, ate with him. After the meal Mixed-Timber started 
out on another hunting trip, and while he was making this trip, his 
mother told the young woman that on his return she would be asked 
to go and bring some water; that he had a drinking place all of his 


*Told by Ahahe (Waco). 


64 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


own, in which was human blood, and he had a human skull for a cup; 
that he was wicked and had human flesh for his meals; and that this 
was the worst of all places to be; that on her son’s return, if asked to 
go and fetch water for him, she should look out for her hand, for if he 
got hold of it, she would be slain and butchered. 

On the following day, late in the evening, this man returned from 
his hunting trip. Upon entering the place, the very first thing he asked 
for was something to eat. The old woman gave him human flesh for 
his supper, and then, after the meal, the young woman was asked to 
bring him some fresh water. She stepped out and went for the water. 
Arriving at the spring, she found a human skull, which she was to use 
for her cup. She dipped the skull in the blood and carried it to the 
man, remembering what the old woman had told her. When she en- 
tered the place she gave the blood water to Mixed-Timber, and in 
taking it, he reached for her hand. She jerked it away from him. He 
asked ther why she did this; then she was told to go and put the skull 
back where she had found it. This was in the night, and they all went 
to bed and to sleep, the two women sleeping together and the man 
sleeping by himself. While Mixed-Timber was on his next hunting 
trip, his mother told the young woman that he did not mean what he 
had said about not killing any game; that he wanted an excuse for 
killing the young woman; that the next day the man would go on an- 
other hunting trip; and that he would say that he had not killed any 
game (for it was human beings that he hunted); and that the next 
time the man should start to hunt, the young woman should make her 
escape. The young woman stayed all that day, and Mixed-Timber re- 
turned from his hunting trip again and was as hungry as he could be. 
He asked for something to eat, and the old woman gave him something 
to eat. Then he asked for fresh water to drink, and the young woman 
went out to get him water. She took the skull again and brought him 
some blood water, and he made a quick jerk for her hand, but the 
woman was too quick for him. ‘Then the asked her why she jerked 
away. Early on the next day the man went on another hunting trip. 
The young woman was told to make her escape, and to go south, where 
she would be saved. She was given power to get away. Early that 
morning she was given the double-ball and a stick to go on. The old 
woman stood on the north side of the fireplace, and the young woman 
took water, put it on the fire, and as the smoke went up she went up 
with it. The smoke of the fire went for a long way toward the south. 
The old woman had told the young woman that she would have to crosg 
some river; that there would be some one there to take her across; 


THE SEVEN BROTHERS AND THE WOMAN. 65 


that she should then go to a place where there was a small hill, where 
she would see a little boy; that she should beg the boy to save her life, 
for this little boy’s people had great power. After the woman had 
lighted on her feet, she ran along for a way, and then took the stick 
and tossed the double-ball towards the place where she was going. 
(In these times the double-ball would ‘go a long way. They were used 
by women traveling.) When she tossed the double-ball she went with 
it up in the air. 

The old woman now called for her son and told him of the 
young woman’s escape. (The man had great power, to hear a long 
way off.) Then the old woman took a club and killed herself. When 
the man came home he saw his mother lying on the ground, dead. 
He made a circuit around the place, looking for the young woman’s 
trail, then he went back again to the place where his mother was lying 
dead. He looked and looked, and wondered which way his prisoner 
had gone, and then went around the place again, always a little way 
off, to look for ther trail. Mixed-Timber at last found her trail. While 
on the way, she could hear him talking, saying, “I will get you. You 
need not think you are going to get away from me.” When he came 
to the place where she tossed the balls, he lost the trail again, and 
there he would have to spend some time in looking for it. Then 
the woman would light on her feet and go on the ground for a while, 
and when she gave out again, she would use the double-ball. She 
tossed the double-ball four times, and then went on the ground for a 
while, until she came to the place where she was told to go. When 
she tossed the double-ball for the last time she could just barely see 
the place where she was going. Every time she tossed the ball the 
man would lose her trail, but she could always hear him talking. After 
getting on her feet she had to run a long way, but finally came to the 
river, where she went along the bank, looking for a certain person to 
take her across the river. She finally found the one she was looking 
for, and this was a Crane (Hakeakawi). The Crane stretched his 
neck across the water, so the woman could walk across. She told the 
Crane not to let the man cross over, but the Crane told the woman if 
he did not he would be killed. He also told the woman the same thing 
the old woman had told her, and so she went to the point, and there 
she found a boy walking around. His name was Big-Belly-Boy 
(Wikskatsitawaks). She begged him to save her life. She told him 
some one was after her to kill her. The boy still continued to go around. 
At this time Mixed-Timber came in sight of her, and he was telling 
the boy not to listen to her, but she begged the boy to save her life 


66 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


and he finally agreed to do 80. They went into the place where the boy 
lived, and on their way the woman noticed that there was a great, big 
stone at the point they were going to. Big-Belly-Boy removed the 
stone and they entered. There was an old man in the room by the 
name of Man-with-supernatural-Powers (Nthosikiwarikit), to whom 
he said he had some one with him who wanted her life saved. 

By this time Mixed-Timber had arrived, and he asked for the re- 
lease of the woman, but he could not get those people to give her up. 
He went on ahead and began destroying the little hill which they 
were in. Beginning at the top, he tore off the rocks. The boy said 
to Man-with-supernatural-Power, “Make haste, that man is about to 
destroy our lodge.” So the old man arose. Around his neck was tied 
a string which had something tied to it. He took the string off from 
his neck and threw it up, and killed the man outside instantly. When 
he threw it, it sounded like thunder and lightning. The old man then 
went outside to fix up the place again, and to replace the stones that 
had been torn up by Mixed-Timber. This lodge was at a high point, 
and the people had a big stone that was used for a door. When Mixed- 
Timber was dead, they told the woman that she could go where she was 
from, but the boy quickly spoke, saying that the woman had made all 
kinds of promises as to what she would do to relieve him of work, such 
as wood hauling and carrying, etc., if he would help her. The boy 
asked Man-with-supernatural-Powers to let the woman stay, because 
he himself was tired of doing all his work. The woman was allowed 
to remain. Man-with-supernatural-Powers told the woman that he 
had six sons; that they were out; but that they would be in soon, 
as they were now coming. Before reaching the lodge the sons all 
stopped and asked what it was they had in the lodge. They all said 
that it must be something unpleasant, for they could smell something. 
The boy was out begging his brothers to come, and to prevail upon 
them he told them they had always said they loved him; and he told 
them there was somebody in the lodge that the old man had saved from 
being killed, and that this one had made all kinds of promises to him 
to relieve him of his work. They all agreed to enter. One after an- 
other they entered, and died; for these men were used to living by 
themselves, and thus they could always tell when there was some 
stranger at the place. When the oldest one started into the lodge, he 
closed up ‘his mouth and fell dead. The rest did the same thing, until 
they were all dead. So Big-Belly-Boy begged Man-with-supernatural- 
Powers to restore his brothers to life. The old man, having such great. 
powers, raised these boys from the dead, and there they were again. 


THE SEVEN BROTHERS AND THE WOMAN. 67 


They were surprised to see what was there. They all thought, as they 
looked at the girl, that she was a funny kind of man, for she was of a 
different shape from a man, and they had never before seen a woman. 

Time passed, and the six brothers were always on some kind of a 
hunting expedition ; but Big-Belly-Boy, Man-with-supernatural-Powers, 
and the woman all stayed home. In so doing, all the work that the boy 
formerly did was to be done by the woman, while she was carrying 
wood or water. The woman told the boy what people where she 
was from did to bring forth children; but Big-Belly-Boy could not 
understand what she meant. The woman told Big-Belly-Boy that 
where there were people, man and woman became husband and wife. 
Big-Belly-Boy told his brothers of this, saying that people ought to 
increase in number, and so in the night, the oldest brother did the same 
as the young boy had done, and he told the rest of his brothers about it. 
Altogether, the woman had seven men to whom she was married. She 
was living with these folks, and Big-Belly-Boy stayed close to her every 
day while she went to haul wood and water. Soon she told the people 
that she was pregnant, and as time passed, again she told them that she 
was going to be confined, and that men were not allowed to stay where 
a woman was about to have a child. The six men stepped out of the 
lodge; but the old man and the boy remained. A child was born to 
these seven brothers; it was a boy. The old man fumigated the place 
with smoke, so that his boys could enter. Then the boys came in, and 
they were surprised to find the child. They passed around and around 
to examine it. 

Ass the six boys were in the habit of going hunting, they all went 
out on a trip again. When they returned, they saw that the boy was 
sad, as if something were the matter with him. One of the six brothers 
asked why he was feeling sad, and he said, “Because we are to be at- 
tacked by somebody.”’ They told the boy not to mind that. In a few 
days, while they were out of doors, there came two Double-Faced-Mon- 
sters (Witschatska) to attack them. The boys began to fight, but 
found that they could do nothing to these two monsters, and now all 
were killed. The boy asked his father to make haste in raising the boys 
from the dead. The old man went and brought them in, one at a time. 
When he had brought them all into the lodge, he brought them all to 
life again. 

The six ‘brothers went out hunting again, while the boy, the woman 
and the child went out to some place, walking around. While walking, 
they came to a cave, and in this cave they saw lots of young Double- 
Faced-Monsters. They were fierce looking creatures. Over head they 


68 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


saw a kind of line stretched across the cave, and something hanging 
on it. The boy asked what these were, and the children said that they 
were their lungs. These young ones also told of the story about the six 
brothers having a fight with their father and mother. Big-Belly-Boy 
had some arrows. He took one of these arrows and punched one of 
these lungs with the point of it, and one of the young ones fell dead. 
Then he stuck the point of his arrow through another, and another, 
until he finally stuck the arrow point into the last two, killing them. 
The boy, woman, and child then went back to the lodge and told what 
they had done. Big-Belly-Boy himself had great powers. They lived 
there for a long time. 

Finally the woman began to tell the boy what fun there was where 
children were among children, and that where she came from there 
were games of all sorts. She told him that if there were more people, 
he and his little boy could play, and she finally persuaded him to move 
their lodge. She told him that the rest of his brothers could marry 
some girls, and be with many other young men of their age. The time 
came when the boy made out that he was feeling very bad over some- 
thing. His people asked him what was the matter, and he replied that 
he was told that if they moved to where this woman was from he 
would have all the fun he wanted and that he could play with other 
children. They told the boy not to feel badly, because they always 
agreed to do whatever he asked. They finally moved toward the north. 
When darkness came on, Man-with-supernatural-Powers took a bunch 
of grass in his hand and blew upon it, and put it on the ground, and 
there was the first grass-lodge. They stayed all that night until the 
next day, when they continued their journey. When they started, 
Man-with-supernatural-Powers took a straw and carried it along. 
When darkness came again, the old man took the straw, stuck it in the 
ground, and there was a grass-lodge again. The next day they went on 
again. Man-with-supernatural-Powers took another straw and made 
another grass-lodge. ‘The next day they traveled all day until late in 
the night, when they reached the village of the woman. The old man 
took the straw, stuck it in the ground and they had a grass-lodge to 
live in. No one knew of these strangers moving in. They remained 
for a long time. The boys did as the woman had told them, and they 
were married. Of course, the oldest of the brothers was married to 
the woman whom they brought with them. Big-Belly-Boy and the 
other little boy played with the rest of the children. Here they lived 
for a while, until some child made the little boy cry; and Big-Belly-Boy 
felt sad over it. On their way home the boy cried all the way, and Big- 
Belly-Boy himself began to cry, too. 


THE SEVEN BROTHERS AND THE SISTER. 69 


At this time, the oldest brother sent Big-Belly-Boy to round up 
all his brothers who were living with other women. When they 
arrived, the old man told them that they had better move out again, 
for he did not like the way the boy was treated. They intended to leave 
the woman, but she begged to go along, too. Man-with-supernatural- 
Powers took his family and went up into the sky, but the village re- 
mained. If we look carefully at the Seven Stars (Ursa Minor), we 
can always find Big-Belly-Boy, second to the last, with the little boy. 
The old man himself became the Never-Moving-Star (Kasasaniki), 
or North Star; and another bright star below him, is the woman, 
mother of Big-Belly-Boy. So North-Star is the father of the Seven- 
Stars. 


9. THE SEVEN BROTHERS AND THE SISTER.* 


There was once a village. Some people lived within this village 
while some lived outside. There were seven brothers who had five 
sisters, and they with their father and mother lived in this village. The 
seven brothers were like other men of their time and went hunting 
and on the war-path. They were always out on some kind of a trip. 
When not on the war-path they had great powers. None of their 
enemies knew when they were near nor when they were about to attack. 
They blindfolded their enemies, as it were, so that they might easily do 
to them whatever they wanted to do. At home they had fun and played 
all sorts of games, the same as other men did. Their chief game was 
with the hoop. Each of the brothers had a certain power that the 
others had not, and they were named accordingly, as follows: Good- 
Sight (Otsnanaaiai), Good-Hearing (Gaatsia), Great-Strength (Net- 
sia), Good-Shooter (Otsnaiwigaia), Fast-Runner (Nataquantsiki), 
Great-Prophet (Nadikakidilue), and Afraid-of-Nothing (Kakinai- 
dari). They spent most of their time on the war-path, leaving their 
folks at home. Large crowds would go with these parties against the 
Trickster (Kinas) people of those times. 

While the oldest brother was home, some one cate to his bed 
nearly every night, and he knew it was a woman. He soon got tired 
of the occurrence, for he wanted to remain single all his life. He took 
white clay and water, mixed it, then put it away for use at night. When 
he went to bed again to sleep, a woman came to his bed. When the 
woman came he would always kick her off the bed; but this time, 
when the woman came to his bed he took the clay and water that he 


*Told by Lodge-in-front-of-all-the-Lodges (Waco). 


70 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


had mixed, then he grabbed the woman and put a mark on her back, then 
pushed her away. The next day he announced publicly that he wanted 
to see the’ women play the double-ball game. The following morn- 
ing the women from every lodge came to the play-ground and played 
the double-ball game. The young man sat watching the game, looking 
out for the one he had marked. While the game was going on he 
noticed that one of his sisters bore the mark. She was his oldest 
sister. He then ordered the women to go home. When the game was 
going on, the rest of the women would ask the young man’s sister why 
she had the hand mark on her. He, of course, felt sad that his sister 
should have treated him like this, so he decided to punish her when 
she should come to him again. The very next night, the sister came 
to his bed again, and this time he was ready for her with his arrows 
on his right side. When the woman came he took his arrows by the 
points, struck all over her and made her cry aloud. The woman, full 
of regret, left her parents behind, going north, and when she was by 
herself she became Woman-having-great-Powers (Widadadiakista), 
or Grisly-Bear. 

Now, the seven brothers went on the war-path and were gone for a 
good while. The time came when Great-Prophet stayed behind the rest 
of the crowd. His brothers said among themselves: “What can be 
the matter with Great-Prophet. Surely he must have found out some- 
thing.” So they all stopped a moment to see if he had discovered some 
danger before them or at home. He answered them, saying there was 
danger at home; that some beast had killed all the people but their 
youngest sister. Shey asked Good-Sight to look and see if he could see 
anything at home. When he had looked he said to his brothers that 
surely there was a Bear going around their home. They at once turned 
back and made a straight journey to their home. They remained out- 
side of their former village to avoid danger, but they kept close watch 
of the Bear and their sister. One day the seven brothers watched to 
see if their sister would come away from the place where the Bear 
was. They saw her coming toward the prairie; so they went toward 
her and asked her for information. The girl said the Bear was always 
looking for her brothers’ return and wanted to do to them as she had 
done to the people; that she was sent out to get a sack full of Indian 
turnips. She had a short stick, to kill a jack-rabbit. Her brothers asked 
her if she did anything else during the day. She told them that the Bear 
always slept about noon, and part of the night, and woke up in the 
afternoon. They quickly dug the turnips, and filled her sack full, and 


THE SEVEN BROTHERS AND THE SISTER. 7a 


ordered Good-Sight to take the stick and go quickly and kill a jack- 
rabbit. He took the stick and went to look for the rabbit to kill for 

the Bear. He finally succeeded in finding one, threw the stick and 
stuck it into the rabbit through its side. After they had done these things 
for their sister they again asked her if she had ever asked the Bear 
where a person should shoot her in order to kill her. She told them that 
all one had to do was to shoot the Bear in her hands and under her 
feet. The brothers again begged Good-Sight to give the girl power 
to shoot straight, for they knew the Bear would make her repeat the 
shooting of the rabbit. They knew that the Bear would not believe the 
girl had dug the turnips so quickly and that she had killed the rabbit. 
They started her off and told her to keep secret their presence around | 
the village. The next time the seven brothers met the girl she told them 
that when she had arrived with the turnips and jack-rabbit at the place 
where the Bear was, the Bear had said to her: “Your brothers must 
be somewhere around the camp; I know that you could not have 
filled the sack so soon and could not possibly have killed the rabbit so 
easily.” She told them that she had denied that her brothers were 
somewhere around their former camps; that the Bear had said to her: 
“T must see with my own eyes how you did when you killed the rabbit ;” 
that the Bear had stood up the dead rabbit and given her the stick to 
prove that she had killed it; that she had thrown the stick at the rabbit 
and hit it right in the wound, so that the Bear had to believe her; that 
she had cooked the rabbit by the fire; that the Bear had fallen asleep, 
it being about noon, when she had come to her brothers. The seven 
brothers then consulted as to what must be done and what would be 
the best way to get away from the Bear. When the Bear went to sleep 
she could be heard a long way off. The brothers left the girl with 
Fast-Runner, who at once started for the north, going as hard as he 
could go. His brothers then went straight to where the Bear was, 
and on their arrival they saw her still sleeping soundly on her back, 
with her hands and feet up. This gave them a chance to shoot her 
under the feet. Four of them got around her, one at each foot, to shoot 
and kill her. ‘hey all shot at once, hitting her under the feet. Then 
they all ran toward the north, where Fast-Runner had gone with 
their sister. 

They could hear the Bear talking, saying: “Who would ever be- 
lieve anyone could kill me by shooting under my feet and hands! I 
knew the seven brothers were somewhere about the village; but never 
mind, I will get them.” The Bear at once took after them and they 
could hear her talking, saying: “I will get you. You need not think 


72 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


you are going to make your escape from me. It is the hardest thing a 
person could do.” By this time the brothers were a good way 
off, but»they could still hear the Bear talking. They went fast, each 
taking his turn carrying their sister along. The Bear kept gaining 
on them, and came so near that they could see her coming. The oldest 
brother took a turtle shell, threw it on the ground, and there was a 
great, big bunch of turtles crawling around. Then they continued their 
escape. When the Bear came to the turtles she stopped quite a while, 
trying to get them to one place, so that she could get them. But the 
turtles kept crawling around. They were the Bear’s main food, and this 
was a good chance for her to get all she wanted. The Bear forgot for 
a while all about chasing the seven brothers, who, with their sister, had 
gone a long way ahead of her. The Bear again chased the people, say- 
ing: “TI will get you. You need not think you are going to make me 
forget to chase you.” ‘The seven brothers and their sister could hear the 
Bear talking, but she was a good way off yet. They still kept traveling 
as fast as they could. The Bear, having power to travel a good deal 
faster than the seven brothers, gained on them so that they could see 
her coming and could hear her voice, and they were frightened. The 
oldest brother took a piece of red colored stone and threw it on the 
ground and the place was full of red colored stones. This brother knew. 
this to be the very thing that the Bear wanted for painting. When 
the Bear came to the place she stopped, thinking that was the very 
thing she had been wanting for a good while. The Bear commenced to 
pile up the red colored stones and almost forgot about chasing the 
seven brothers. The Bear did forget once in a while, but soon thought 
of it again. She now said to herself: “Well, when I come back I will 
have what I want.” She then pursued them again. The seven brothers 
had gone a long way ahead of her. She commenced talking again, and 
this time they heard her saying that they were the people she was after, 
for they had done her wrong by pricking her with the points of the 
arrows, and she was bound to get them and get even with them. They 
traveled along, but the Bear kept gaining on them, and she got so near 
that they could see her coming. 

The oldest brother now took his knife, cut out of his arrows a 
fine dust, threw it on the ground and there were great, big bushes that 
arrows are made of. When the Bear came to the place she stopped 
again and began to look for the best and straightest bushes, saying to 
herself, ‘“Well, here are the things I have been wanting for a long while, 
and here is the best chance for me to get what I want.” She commenced 
to cut them with her teeth. Whenever the oldest brother left something 


THE SEVEN BROTHERS AND THE SISTER. 73 


behind for the Bear, the Bear would forget for a while all about the 
seven brothers. The brothers and sister were now a good way ahead 
of her again, when the Bear remembered and began to pursue them. 
The people were traveling rapidly, but the Bear gained on them again 
and kept gaining until they were compelled to do something or die. 
Finally they saw the Bear coming. ‘The oldest one said to the rest: 
“We will now have to die. There is only one thing left to be done. 
When the Bear succeeds in passing the next place we surely will have 
to die.” He now took his bow-string off from his bow, passing it 
through his left hand four times, then threw it on the ground, and there 
was a deep canyon, but it had a place where the Bear could get down 
and get out on the other side. They commenced to travel again. When 
the Bear came to the canyon she went all round, looking for a place, 
going further and further, and finally came to a place where there was 
a high cedar tree standing over the canyon. She made a jump onto 
the tree, climbed down, got on the ground and commenced to look for a 
place to get out. She climbed onto another tree, then jumped on the 
other side of the canyon and commenced to chase the seven brothers. 
The party was now a good way off, but they could hear her talking. 
This being their last chance, the brothers and their sister had to give 
up traveling. They all stopped, sat in a row, and faced toward the 
south. The oldest brother was on the west end, their sister on the 
other end, next to Fast-Runner. Finally they saw the Bear coming, 
saying: “I thought I would finally get you. You thought I never 
would give up chasing you.” 

When the Bear arrived she sat down and rolled around, rolled up 
to each of them, kept rolling around, and would sometimes slap one of 
them, and say, “You knew that nobody could get away from me.” 
When she rolled away from them, the oldest brother jumped up, called 
to his brothers to rise, took the feather off his head and blew it. As 
it went up the seven brothers and their sisters went with it. They went 
up in the sky before the Bear knew it, and they now live as the Seven 
(Kiowhits), or the Dipper. When the Bear rolled up where they had 
been, she finally noticed that she did not touch anyone. She opened her 
eyes and looked around to see where the people had gone, but there was 
no sign of them and no trail. She looked around, but could not see 
any trace of them. When she looked up in the sky she saw them above 
her, where she could never get them. She commenced to scold herself, 
saying: “Why did I not kill them when I arrived! Well, I can not 
help it now; they have got away from me.” ‘The Bear had to give 
up and went off to the canyon and never did go back where she had 


74. THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


come from. In the north there can be seen worlds of these bears, 
because the Bear went there, and never returned. Before the Bear 
arrived where the seven brothers were the oldest one talked to the rest, 
saying: ‘The powers we have had and the things we have had are to 
remain on earth for the people of the next generation. If at any time 
anybody sends out any kind of an expedition and the leader wishes aid 
from us he can get it by offering smoke to us.” ‘These benefits they left 
on earth for generations to follow. 


10. THE SEVEN BROTHERS AND THE SISTER.* 


The Coyote was a famous schemer. He wandered about in the 
wilderness looking for food for his family, and there were times when 
he was lucky enough to get something. ‘The Coyote worked all kinds 
of schemes and tricks on other people to make a living. Sometimes 
power was given him*to become famous like those who had given him 
the power. The Coyote was living out by himself, where there was 
no one else. He had no neighbors, and was accustomed to prowl 
around, and wander from one place to another, hunting for food. Once 
upon a time the Coyote went toward the west. He kept going, and was 
getting far from home. He finally came to some thick timber, and in 
this timber there was flowing water. When he crossed the creek he saw 
a grass-lodge. He then decided to go and visit the place and find out 
who lived there. | 

When the Coyote reached the place he entered the grass-lodge, 
and he saw a young woman who was staying at her home all alone. 
The woman asked him to be seated. Then she asked him if he was 
hungry. The Coyote said he was hungry. The woman began to cook 
some meat for him, and when she had cooked it she gave it to him. 
While the Coyote was eating, this woman began to ask him some 
questions. She asked him if he had any children. The Coyote told 
the woman that he had a daughter about her age, who resembled 
her very much. The woman then asked the Coyote if he could spare 
his daughter and let her come and live with her, for she lived alone 
in the daytime, and at night her brothers came home from hunt- 
ing. The Coyote said in reply: ° “Well, woman, when I get home, I 
will tell my daughter to come over and live with you, and you will 
find that I have a fine-looking daughter who resembles you. When 
your brothers come home they too will find that my daughter resembles 


*Told by Ignorant-Woman (Man) (Towakoni), 


THE SEVEN BROTHERS AND THE SISTER. 75 


you.” After the Coyote had told the woman that he would send his 
daughter to live with her the woman gave him all the meat he could 
carry. Being strong, he took home plenty of meat in his pack. As the 
Coyote started the woman asked him to be sure and send over his 
daughter, and promised him that when his daughter was living with her 
she would give him all the meat he might want for his family and she 
would treat his daughter well. She also told the Coyote that when 
her brothers should come home they would stop a long way from the 
lodge and ask her what she had in the lodge that was decayed, for they 
were high-class people and not used to anyone coming around. These 
brothers could always tell by the scent of the place whenever anyone had 
been around. The Coyote went on home, having plenty of meat with 
him for this family. 

On the following day the Coyote arrived home with his meat. As 
they were always hungry they ate the meat in a short time. The 
Coyote forgot what the woman had told him, for he had no daughter 
who was similar to her, nor had he one of the same age. Some time after 
this he thought again of the woman and resolved to go back. He left 
his home to go to her. When he came to the river he looked for the 
deepest place, and finally succeeded in finding such a place, and then 
stripped off all his clothing and went into the water. The water was 
about half-way up on his body. The Coyote then got ready to dive into 
the water, and said: ‘The time has arrived when I will turn into a 
woman.” As soon as he had said this he dived, and when he came out 
he looked at himself, and saw that he was a woman, but not like 
a grown woman. He dived again, the second, the third, and the fourth 
times, then looked at himself again and saw that he was full 
grown. ‘Then he looked into the water and found that he was 
similar to the woman,he was going to visit. The Coyote having 
become a woman, he came out of the water to the land. He got his old 
quiver and his robe which he put around him after the manner of a 
woman. He then threw his quiver where he had his arrows. When the 
Coyote arrived at the woman’s place he made a noise to attract her 
attention so as to make her come out. Of course, the woman came 
out and went in the direction the sound came from. But the Coyote, 
to be a little contrary, after he had made the noise, went from the 
woman, around the other way and dodged her. Failing to find anyone 
the woman thought she must have heard an echo in the lodge. The 
Coyote now went on the south side of the lodge and made the same 
kind of a noise as before, to make the woman come out again. And 
indeed, he did cause the woman to come out, and this time the Coyote 


76 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


had his head down, facing the wall of the grass-lodge. The woman 
then found the Coyote and asked him if his father had sent him down 
to live with her. ‘The Coyote would not say a word, but shook his 
head for “Yes.” The woman then told the Coyote to come into the 
grass-lodge. She was proud of her company. She asked the Coyote if 
he wanted something to eat, and he told her that he did, so the 
woman gave him something to eat. While the Coyote was eating’ 
the woman asked why his father had not come along, since he had 
promised to come with his daughter. The Coyote said that his father 
had turned off some other way and that he would come some other 
time. The woman then -began to tell the Coyote woman about her 
brothers, who were away hunting, saying that they were away hunting 
and were to return late that evening, and that on their approach they 
would ask her to take out of the lodge whatever she might have 
there, as the smell of the Coyote would be like a stench to them. 

Late that day they heard the brothers returning. As soon as they 
came near the grass-lodge the men began to ask their sister what she 
had in the lodge that smelled so badly. During the day she had fumi- 
gated the room by burning some kind of brown weeds. Still the men 
could smell what was in the lodge. The woman told her brothers 
that she had a woman in the lodge to live with her while they were 
away; that they had told of their love for her and promised her that 
she might do as she wished. The brothers then said to one another, 
“Well, let us go and see what she has in there, for we love our sister, 
and whatever she says will be all right.” The men then walked into 
the lodge and they saw no one. The woman began to cook some food 
for her brothers. After everything was cooked she gave them the . 
food, and when they began to eat, the woman pulled the robe from the 
_ Coyote woman and asked her to get up and eat with her. When the 
Coyote woman got up the men began to look at her, and this made her 
somewhat ashamed as she looked at her companion’s brothers, and she 
was already enamored of them; and the next thing that came to the 
Coyote woman’s mind was that she was bound to marry them. The 
woman then cut up the meat for the Coyote woman, but she ate only a 
little bit. The woman then told her brothers that this Coyote woman 
was a daughter of the man who had visited her sometime before; that 
she had asked him if he had any children and he had replied that he 
had a daughter about her age; and that they could now see that the 
woman was about her own age. The men saw that the two women 
were about the same age, and believed that the Coyote woman had been 
sent from her home to remain with their sister during their absence. 


THE SEVEN BROTHERS AND THE SISTER. yee 


After eating they all went to bed. The two women slept together. The 
next morning the woman again cooked her brothers’ food, and when 
they were through eating they went out again, the same as usual. The 
woman was no longer worried, for she had some one to stay with her 
and talk to her. They went off in the timber and cut wood and brought 
it home with them, and during that day both hauled about four or five 
loads, and the remainder of the day they stayed at home. 

Time went on, and the woman began to ask the Coyote woman 
how people obtained children. She said she wished she might in some 
way have a child, for she was very fond of young children since she 
had heard about other people having children. The Coyote woman then 
said that a man and a woman had to marry in order to get a child, and 
that was the way her father and mother made her and the other chil- 
dren of the family. The Coyote woman then told her that her mother 
and father had told her all about these things, and how a child must be 
kept, and that was how she came to know so much about it. The woman 
then asked the Coyote woman if she could by marrying one of her 
brothers bring a child. The Coyote woman said she could, for her 
father and mother had told her if she could get hold of some good 
man for a husband she could have children the same as they had. So 
the woman offered her brothers to the Coyote woman to marry, for she 
knew that they were good enough for this woman to marry, and she 
knew that they would do whatever she might tell them to do. So they 
talked at home and things were now ready for the Coyote woman to 
marry the other woman’s brothers. The next day, when the brothers 
returned from hunting, their sister began to tell them what she had 
thought of; that she had always wanted to know how a child was 
brought, and through the Coyote woman, who had been told all about it 
by her father and mother, she had learned that to get children a man 
and woman must marry. The woman then said to her brothers that 
she wanted them to marry the Coyote woman, as she wanted to see a 
child born to one of them. ‘This was first directed to the oldest brother, 
who said that his next younger brother should have her. This brother 
refused her, and so on down, till it came to the youngest brother, who 
said he did not understand why the responsibility was laid upon him, 
since his sister had desired that they all should marry the Coyote 
woman. Said he: “I thought it was for us to do whatever our sister 
wants us to do, so I think it best that we should all have the woman 
between us.” Ail agreed that this was right. The oldest of the seven 
brothers slept with the Coyote woman first. As they were ignorant, 
the Coyote woman had to show them what to do when married. As 


78 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


they went out on the next day the oldest brother began to tell the 
rest how he had been with a woman for the first time in his life, and 
promised them that they would be delighted when it came their turn. 
When they arrived the next day the Coyote woman did most of the 
work in feeding the men, for she was now their wife. At night the 
next oldest took his turn sleeping with the Coyote woman, and he was 
shown how to work at night. Thereafter the men took turns sleeping 
with the Coyote woman. 

Some time afterwards the Coyote woman told her sister-in-law 
that she was pregnant, “for,” said she, “my mother thas told me that 
when a woman is in my condition she is pregnant and must not sleep 
with men any more. My mother and father no longer sleep together 
when a child is in my mother’s womb. Moreover, before any brothers 
and sisters are born, my father cuts twenty-four dogwood sprouts to 
make a cradle, and other material that is used in making a cradle.” 
The woman listened attentively to all that the Coyote woman had to 
say about the handling of a child after it was born, and it sounded 
strange to her. When the brothers came home she repeated all that she 
had heard ; how they were not to sleep any more with the Coyote woman, 
and how they were to cut dogwood sprouts to make a cradle for the 
child. She told them they could sleep with the Coyote woman once 
more, but after that the two women would sleep together. Some time 
afterward the men were out cutting the twenty-four dogwood sticks 
to make a cradle with for the child, and other materials that had to 
be used were the things that they always had. So everything went on 
the same as it had always gone. While the two women were to- 
gether the woman would feel around where the child was and wonder 
whether it was going to be a boy or a girl. Some time after, the 
Coyote woman told her sister-in-law that she was about to have a 
-child, and she would after that remain at home and let the other 
woman do the work. Sometimes the woman would say: “I wonder 
why your father does not come to see us.” ‘The Coyote woman would 
say: “Perhaps he has all he can do and has no time to come around.” 
Whatever the Coyote woman did she would relate what her father and 
mother told her, but she was the old man Coyote herself. Finally the 
Coyote woman became sick, and said she was going to have a child. 
So the child was born. 

The woman, not knowing anything about having children, asked 
the Coyote woman what to do, and she told the woman to cut the navel 
off. After doing this the woman took the robe of one of her brothers 
and wrapped up the child in it. After the child was born the Coyote 


THE SEVEN BROTHERS AND THE SISTER. 79 


woman told the woman she had heard from her mother that bearing a 
child affected the legs, so that her mother always took a rope and 
went after wood and put a load on her back, which straightened her up. 
“So let me have a rope,” said she, ‘“‘and I will do the same as my mother 
does.” ‘he woman handed her a rope and she brought about three 
loads of wood on her back. After she had done this she was washed. 
“Now,” said the Coyote woman, “my mother has told me that whenever 
a child is born it is the rule that men may not enter the lodge until 
four days have elapsed. So we must not allow the men to come in, but 
let them remain somewhere else until after four days.” ‘The woman 
kept watching for her brothers to come home, so she could tell them 
about the child, and tell them to remain somewhere until after four 
days should pass. Finally they came home, and there was the woman, 
waiting to tell them of the child’s birth. 

The woman stopped them before they came near the place and 
told them about the birth of the child. They asked her if the child 
was a boy or girl. She told them it was a boy and that they could not 
come in the lodge until the fifth day, for the Coyote woman had said 
that that was the rule. So the men, when returning from the hunt, 
stayed outside the lodge for four days. On the fifth day they were 
allowed to come in. They all saw their child, which was now in a cradle. 
The men were proud of the child, so they passed it around from one to 
another. After this the Coyote woman would remain at home with 
the child while the other woman did the work. This is the way they 
did things around the lodge. The child grew pretty fast. 

After a time the Coyote woman began to think about leaving these 
folks to go to some other place to marry some chief of a tribe, for she 
knew nearly all the villages near there. One day while the woman was 
away she took the child and went up the creek a little way and sat down. 
When the woman returned to the lodge she went out to look for the 
Coyote woman and the child. She found them up along the creek bank 
sitting down. ‘The woman then said to the Coyote woman that she was 
through with her work and that they would go home, so they went 
_ back. The next day the woman went out again to bring some wood, 
and this time the Coyote woman decided to leave them. As the woman 
went off the Coyote woman started off with her child, going toward the 
north. They were a good long way from home when the woman re- 
turned. But she had more wood to haul, and, knowing that the Coyote 
woman and the child were accustomed to go out and sit down for 
a while she did not pay much attention to their absence. She thought 
they had gone somewhere for a short time. When she came back she 


SO THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


went direct to where she had found them before, but could not find them 
this time. So she went all around and failed to find them. She then 
went straight home. She was now sure that they had deserted, and she 
cried all that day. | 

The next day, when the brothers returned home, they heard some- 
thing unusual and stopped to listen to learn what it was. One of the 
men said: “It is our sister crying.” They then entered the lodge and 
asked what was the trouble. She told them that the woman had de- 
serted with the child. The oldest of the seven brothers then said: “I 
have always known, sister, that you were fooled, but never mind, we 
will get that child, so stop crying and let us have something to eat.” 
The woman began to cook food for her brothers. After eating supper 
all went to bed. The next morning, after breakfast, the oldest man 
asked his sister to bring in a pot of water. They then all stood in a 
group and poured the water on the fire, and as the smoke went up they 
went up too. When they had got up high they saw the Coyote woman 
and the boy, so they went after them. As they got so near that they 
were only one hill apart they got on their feet again, still running after 
the two. They soon overtook them, and the oldest brother said to the 
Coyote woman: “Before you go any further let us have our child.” 
The child was taken away from the Coyote woman, and the brothers, 
their sister, and the child now went up into the sky and became the 
Stars known as the “Seven” (Kiowhits), the Dipper. The sister also 
became a Star, but she did not stay with her brothers. The oldest 
brother had the child with him. 

Sometimes when we see the Seven Stars we notice the first one 
having a small star beside it; sometimes it is with the next one, and so 
on, just as it used to be when the child was first born. 

After the brothers, sister, and child had ascended into the sky the 
Coyote woman jumped, and said: “I will be there again and take my 
child.”’” But by this time the Coyote woman noticed that she was a 
coyote, having a long tail and a different shape from what he used to 
be. Now he thought of his old home and that he had better return 
there. So he went on and on until he got there. When he came to 
the place the only thing he could see was hair and bones, the remains 
of his family. Then he went off on the prairie and cried as the 
coyotes cry. So whenever a coyote howls or cries it means that he is 
still howling or crying for his wife and children. 


OW NER-OF-BLACK-AND-WHITE-FLINT-KNIVES AND SON. 81 
11. OWNER-OF-BLACK-AND-WHITE-FLINT-KNIVES AND HIS SON.* 


In olden times some of the people lived in villages and some out 
by themselves. There was a family, father, mother, and daughter, 
who dived out by themselves. The old man made his living by hunt- 
ing game, buffalo, deer, turkey, etc. The woman hauled the wood and 
did the work which fell to the women to do. One time she went out 
in the timber after wood, and when she had tied the wood with buffalo 
rope and was all ready to go home, she sat down, and was about to 
rise on her feet when she saw an arrow in the ground in front of her. 
As she was about to pick it up she saw some one coming, who said 
that the arrow was his. He was a fine-looking young man. His name 
was Owner-of-Black-and-White-Flint-Knives (Dahaacutsnaatiah). He 
told her to give up the arrow, but she refused to give it up, and the 
young man started back toward the west, where he had come from. 
The young woman followed him, asking him to stop and get his arrow, 
but he kept on, and the woman followed him. They went a good way 
from where she was putting up the wood, when the man finally stopped 
and she gave him his arrow. Then she discovered that she could not 
turn back, the young man having charmed her. Finally darkness came, 
and they stopped for the night. They built a fire and ate some meat. 
When they retired the young man told the woman to lie down by her- 
self, and he lay down by himself. Early the next morning, they started 
again, and traveled all that day, until darkness overtook them, and 
they camped again for the night. This time the woman thought that 
she was to sleep with the man. When bedtime came the man told the 
woman to lie down on one side of the fire. On the next day they 
started again, traveling until darkness overtook them. They stopped 
to rest for the night. By this time, the woman had given up all hope 
of ever sleeping with the man. They built a fire, ate supper and went 
to sleep, the woman sleeping in one place and the man sleeping in an- 
other. In the morning after breakfast, they started, and traveled all 
day, and finally arrived at the home of the man. 

The woman now saw the young man’s mother and four sisters. 
The young man asked for something to eat, and they gave him some 
meat. His sisters also ate the same kind of meat. When the woman’s 
supper time came the old woman gave her some buffalo meat and some 
parched corn. The strange woman thought that she would sleep with 
the young man’s mother. She went to bed with the old woman. Next 
morning all ate breakfast and the young woman noticed that they had 


*Told by Ahahe (Waco), 


82 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


food of their own, the man and his sisters having meat for themselves, 
the old woman meat for herself, which she shared with the young 
stranger. That morning they supposed that the young man was going 
out hunting, and his four sisters went out to swim, for they were fond 
of swimming, so the strange woman was left at home with the old 
woman. The old woman began to tell the young woman how mean her 
children were; that their food was human flesh; that her son went out 
hunting, not for any kind of game, but for human beings; that he had 
great powers to attack human beings; that when he killed anybody he 
would butcher him and bring home his flesh for himself and his sis- 
ters. She told the young woman a great deal about the young man 
and his four sisters. All that day the young man was out hunting and 
his four sisters were out swimming. The old woman told the young 
woman that this way her children passed their time. At sundown 
the four sisters came home, and after a while the young man came, and 
they were all hungry. The man made his sisters prepare their supper 
at once. The young man was feeling bad because he had not killed 
any game, and said he was going to try again the next day. The next 
morning, after all had eaten breakfast, the young man started on his 
hunting trip again. His sisters went out to the lake for their bath, 
and the old woman remained at home with the young woman until 
the brother and sisters came home. This happened every day. One 
day the old woman said to the young woman, “Let us get the young 
man to eat some food.” ‘They pounded some corn into meal and put 
it away until the young man returned. After the meal, all went to 
sleep, and the two women who had remained at home rose from their 
bed, and while the young man was asleep, put the corn meal into his 
mouth and made him eat it. The young man rose from the bed and said 
to them, “Now, since you have done this to me you have taken away 
from me my powers, and now I shall have to live like any other human 
being, and will always have less powers, for I had great powers before 
you did this to me.” After he had eaten the meal he hunted all kinds 
of game, such as deer, turkey, and buffalo, for his meat from this time 
on. After that time the four women went out to the lake and ceased 
to return. The young man now called together all his neighbors, who 
were the wild animals and fowls of the air. They came to his place 
and asked why he had called them. He told them that his sisters had 
gone to the lake and had not returned home since the two women had 
done him the wrong, and he wanted his sisters to come home. He 
told them that his sisters had laid their clothes on the dry ground; 
that he wanted some one to go and get them; that whoever should get 


OW NER-OF-BLACK-AND-WHITE-FLINT-KNIVES AND SON. *83 


them and bring them home should have the four women for his wives. 
He cautioned them, saying that they must keep themselves concealed 
before reaching the place, and must run hard after taking the clothes, 
for, if overtaken, they would have to die. All agreed to accept the 
offer made by the young man. ‘They were asked to make the trial one 
at a time. The Jack-Rabbit (Watsch) was the first one to try. He at 
once started for the lake, and had to sneak around in order not to be 
seen. He finally succeeded in getting the clothes, and at once began 
to run back to where he had started from. When the women found 
out what had happened to their clothes they started after the Rabbit. 
When about half-way to the young man’s lodge they overtook him and 
killed him, and took their clothes back to the lake. These four women 
were Ducks (Sotshodes), and were fast runners and swimmers. Each 
man tried his luck, but every one failed to reach the home of the young 
man. ‘There was a man known as a swift runner, whose name was 
Swift-Hawk (Gusseids), who tried his luck. He kept himself pretty 
well concealed until he reached the place where the clothes were. Then 
he picked them up and bgan to run as fast as he could. When the four 
women found out that some one had taken away their clothes they 
started after him. They caught him near the young man’s home, and 
killed him while running, took their clothes and returned to the lake. 
There was now but one man left of those who had entered the contest - 
to get the young man’s sisters for wives, and this was Small-Hawk 
(Kasiossekits). He started for the place where the clothes were. He 
kept himself pretty well hid, the same as the rest had done, so as not 
to be discovered. Finally he reached the lake, took the clothes, and 
commenced to run for the young man’s home, but the sisters saw him 
and ran after him. Small-Hawk, being the fastest runner known, ran 
his best and kept running, and reached the door of the lodge nearly 
exhausted. He ran into the lodge with the clothes and just as he en- 
tered, the four women passed the door. Small-Hawk was now within 
the lodge with the clothing. The four sisters passed the lodge, and 
when they turned back they stopped at it, begging the people to give 
them their clothes. The brother of the four women asked them to come 
in, and said if they did not come in he would not let them have their 
clothes. They finally agreed to live in the house if he would give back 
their clothes. The brother told his sisters that Small-Hawk would 
be their husband thereafter, and they agreed to do anything that he 
should ask them to do. Small-Hawk was there, ready to become their 
husband. They were again all living together with*Small-Hawk and 
their brother’s wife, whom he had brought a long distance. 


84 * THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


Once upon a time the brother took a notion to take his wife bacx 
to her home, when he learned that she was pregnant. It must pe re- 
membered that Owner-of-Black-and-White-Flint-Knives now had less 
powers, since the women had fed him what human beings ate; but 
there were still people who feared him. They started on their journey 
and traveled until about the middle of the afternoon, when they stopped 
for the night. The man told his wife to gather a big pile of wood; 
for some one would be around at night to fight him, and in order to 
have light they must have plenty of wood to keep the fire burning all 
night. He said he knew he was to lose his life, for he no longer had 
the same feeling or the same powers as he had had in his earlier life, 
when nothing could bother him, but now, having less powers, some sort 
of animal was going to carry him off. In order to prevent this for a 
time they must keep up a good fire and remain near it. He also told 
her that when the child should be born, she should call him Young- 
Flint-Knife (Tahaaniyer) ; that when it was about time for her to 
give birth she should be left alone in the lodge; that she must not allow 
the child to come out any other than the usual way for a child to come 
out; that she should keep talking to the child inside, for he would re- 
fuse to come out, but she must keep telling him to come out just where 
a child ought to come out; that when the child should be born she 
should give him one piece of black flint and one of white to eat, and the 
first time he should want to know what sort of things were for boys 
to play with, bow and arrows should be given him. That night, when 
they had the fire built, they heard some creature asking if he could 
come around. The man told him to come on; that he was ready for 
him. The creature came and they at once began to pull one another. 
Every time the creature pulled Owner-of-Black-and-White-Flint- 
Knives a little distance from the fire, he would begin to pull back, and 
would bring the animal to the fire. Thus they pulled back and forth 
to and away from the fire, the animal’s intention being to carry off the 
man. They pulled each other back and forth all night, but as soon as 
it was daylight they parted. The foe was Double-Faced-Monster 
(Witschatska). The man and his wife began to travel again, going 
toward the east. About the middle of the afternoon they stopped and 
gathered a big pile of wood. About dark there came that same thing 
that had visited them the night before, which asked if it might come 
around, and the man told him to come around, and that he would meet 
him. They began to get hold of one another. The Double-Faced- 
Monster would try to carry the man far enough into the dark so that 
he could take him off, but about the time he would carry him far enough 


OW NER-OF-BLACK-AND-WHITE-FLINT-KNIVES AND SON.’ 85 


to get an advantage, the man would pull the Double-Faced-Monster 
back and would call his wife to make the fire burn and have plenty of 
wood on it, for he intended to throw the Double-Faced-Monster into 
the fire. They continued this pulling back and forth until morning, 
then parted. The husband and his wife began to travel again. About 
the middle of the afternoon they stopped to get plenty of wood, for 
they knew that the Double-Faced Monster would come again. At dark 
there came this same Double-Faced-Monster. They met and began to 
pull each other around, one pulling to the light, the other to the dark. 
The woman kept the fire burning all night, and whenever the wood 
began to burn out, the Double-Faced-Monster would begin to carry 
the husband a good distance from the fire. Then his wife would put 
some more wood on the fire, and when it commenced to burn they 
would come back to the light. They continued this until morning, 
then parted. Owner-of-Black-and-White-Flint-Knives was getting 
tired of this hard fighting, which had continued for three nights. Again 
they traveled, and there was two days’ journey yet to go, and the hus- 
band knew by the way his strength had been reduced that he would 
be carried off the next night. While they were on the way he began 
to tell his wife that perhaps she would have to go to her home alone, 
for he knew that he would be carried off; that she should not tell her 
son who his father was until he should get big enough, and then if he 
wanted to know, she should tell him that something had taken him 
away; that when he should call for playthings she should give him his 
elk horn bow, and arrows. They traveled all day, and stopped the same 
time as usual and commenced to bring wood and pile it up, getting 
ready for the fight. About dark the Double-Faced-Monster called to 
the Owner-of-Black-and-White-Flint-Knives to get ready for the fight, 
for he was coming again to take him. They again began the fight and 
the woman kept up the fire. When he would be taken off for a distance 
he would call for his wife to build the fire, and then he would come 
back with the Double-Faced-Monster. About daylight she began to 
run out of wood, so that the Double-Faced-Monster gained a little 
greater distance into the darkness, and when they came back they did 
not approach as close to the fire as usual. The strength of Owner-of- 
Black-and-White-Flint-Knives was becoming less, the wood was burn- 
ing out. When there was no more wood to make a fire Double-Faced- 
Monster took off the Owner-of-Black-and-White-Flint-Knives. His 
wife heard him calling to her to build up the fire; but there was no more 
wood, and then the daylight came and the woman was. alone. 


86 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


She continued her journey alone and arrived at her home about 
noon. ‘The people were surprised to see her again, and greeted her 
with joy. She told her parents about her life among the strange peo- 
ple and how she was taken away; what sort of a man she had, and how 
he came to lose his life while on the way to her home. She then told 
her parents that she was pregnant, that when born the child should 
be called Young-Flint-Knife. Time soon passed and she began to 
prepare for her confinement. She told her parents to leave the place 
and allow her to stay alone until the child was born. When she was 
giving birth the child began to talk inside of her womb, asking to be 
allowed to come through her mouth, but the woman refused. She told 
him to come through the same place that all children came, but he said 
he did not want to. They kept arguing about this and finally she told 
him that by coming out of her mouth he might kill her; that he should 
hold his breath and come out. The child did, and there was born to 
the woman a boy, and it was named Young-Flint-Knife. When the 
child was born it did not need to be carried around like a young child, 
but sat down and called for something to eat. She gave him the black 
stone, then the white stone to eat, telling him that that was his food, 
and after he had eaten it she would nurse him. Day after day the child 
grew, and finally he began to hunt and shoot with his arrows, killing 
birds of all kinds, turkeys, and deer. He became a famous boy in 
every way. He had great powers, as his father had had, but he was 
not really like his father, for his food was like that of any other human 
being. When he grew older and of better mind, he began to ask who 
his father was, and what had become of him, and whether he was dead 
or living. As soon as his mother began to realize that he was fully 
grown, she told him that something had taken his father off while they 
were on the way to her home, and she told him where the place was 
where he had been carried away from her. Young-Flint-Knife then 
told his mother to grind enough meal for him to take along with him, 
and he would go and hunt for the being that had carried off his father. 
He started on the trip in search of his father. When he came to the 
place and found the trail of the Double-Faced-Monster he followed it. 
He kept traveling until he came to a deep canyon with steep sides. He 
looked down and saw that there was no way to get down. The sides 
of the canyon were smooth and perpendicular, so that it was impossible 
for any one to go down. He followed up the canyon, looking to see 
whether he could see anyone, until he came to where he could see but 
very little, and down there he saw a man getting water. From the 
description, he thought that the man was his father. He slid down the 


OW NER-OF-BLACK-AND-WHITE-FLINT-KNIVES AND SON. 87 


steep wall when he saw this man again, and called him, saying, “I am 
now here to get you, and am bound to take you back home to mother.” 
He asked Owner-of-Black-and-White-Flint-Knives what the Double- 
Faced-Monsters were, when they were home, and what time they 
came home. His father said that it was dangerous for him to be 
around, for the older Double-Faced-Monsters were out somewhere, 
and he supposed that they already knew of Young-Flint-Knife’s ar- 
rival. They at once went up to the place where the creatures were. 
They walked in the caves, and there they saw the young ones at home 
by themselves. The children came up to them and began to scratch 
their legs, and whatever blood was on their claws they would suck. 
Young-Flint-Knife noticed some things hanging inside the place, and 
he asked the young ones what these things were. They replied that 
they were their hearts; that they were hung there so that there would be 
no chance of anyone killing their father and mother. Young-Flint- 
Knife took his arrow and struck one of these, and down went one of 
the young ones. Young-Flint-Knife then asked whose were the other 
hearts; then he stuck his arrows into them, one after another, until he 
thought he must have killed all of them. 

Young-Flint-Knife and his father walked out, and the Owner-of- 
Black-and-White-Flint-Knives was released from his troubles. ‘They 
looked for the deepest place in the creek, and when they found it, 
Young-Flint-Knife asked his father to dive in. He dived, and when 
he came out of the water he was changed so that he bore the same ap- 
pearance as before he was carried away from his wife. They then 
went on to Young-Flint-Knife’s home. When they arrived the parents 
were glad to see them again, for they had known that Young-Flint- 
Knife was going to meet danger when he set out, and had not ex- 
pected him to return; but Young-Flint-Knife, having great powers, 
knew how to get to the safest place, and knew when the Double-Faced- 
Monsters were at home, and when they were away. He was now much 
stronger than his father. They were at home but a little while, when 
Owner-of-Black-and-White-Flint-Knives told his son that he had less 
powers than formerly. He said that because he was old and had less 
power, he feared that the Double-Faced-Monster, or some other enemies 
might capture him, and make him suffer again all that he had so re- 
cently suffered. In order to prevent a recurrence of this, he wanted 
his son to leave with him and become something else. So the Owner- 
of-Black-and-White-Flint-Knives and his son, Young-Flint-Knife, 
waited until night, then went up in the sky and became Stars. They left 
their people behind, who exist on earth as human beings. 


88 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 
12. THE DEEDS OF AFTER-BIRTH-BOY.* 


Once upon a time there were two villages. There were a good 
many people living there. The two villages were connected by a street- 
like way, though they were two different villages, each controlled by a 
chief. The space that divided the two villages was a place where all 
sorts of games were played every evening. There were a good many 
young men and young women who amused themselves here by playing 
these games. Once in a while there would be some one who would 
send out a war-party, and on its return there would be so much the 
more fun for the people living here, because every one danced all kinds 
of dances. Men and women both had their fun. 

Each of the two chiefs had a child; the one on the north side had 
a girl, the one on the south side had a boy. The boy and the girl were 
unknown to each other, and the boy, when he had become a young man, 
refused to marry any one who wished to marry him. When women 
came around him he would drive them away, and this is the way he 
refused women. When the chief’s daughter on the north side was 
grown to be a young woman, about the same as the chief’s son on the 
south side, she rejected men, and remained single. Once upon a time 
the chief’s son on the south side, after hearing many things about the 
young woman on the north side, and how she was rejecting men, 
thought to himself: “Now, suppose I were to go there. She it is whom 
I would want for my wife—but suppose she should reject me. I would 
like to see whether or not she would have me.” ‘The young man had 
this in mind. At the same time the chief’s daughter got to thinking 
about the chief’s son, of whom she had heard so much, and she wished 
for a way by which she might get 'to see him some time, for she thought 
that he would be her choice. She had heard of his rejecting women 
and thought that she also might be rejected. The notion once in her 
head, she could not get it out; it seemed to trouble her, and she was 
anxious to see the chief’s son. One night the chief’s daughter thought 
to herself: “Now, if I should stand over there some time to-night, after 
everybody has gone to sleep, I suppose I could get to see the chief’s 
son all right.” The chief’s son was getting anxious to see the chief’s 
daughter, and so on. The same night he took a notion to go and visit 
the chief’s daughter. About the same time, the chief’s daughter thought 
she had better go that night and see if she could find the chief’s son. 
She arose from her bed and went toward his village. The two were 
on the way to each other’s home, each to see the other and to ask the 


*Told by Ahahe (Waco). 


THE DEEDS OF AFTER-BIRTH-BOY. 89 


other’s consent to marry. When the chief’s son got to the edge of his 
father’s village he saw some one coming out of the opposite village. 
The chief’s daughter, at the same time, noticed some one coming out of 
the village opposite hers and wondered who it could be. They ap- 
proached each other, each having in mind to visit the other, though 
they had never spoken together. They met in the middle of the space. 
They asked each other where they were going. ‘The chief’s daughter 
replied: “I have heard a good many things about a certain young 
man who is the son of the chief in your village, and I know him to have 
rejected every woman who has wished to marry him, and now I am 
going to see him.” Then the young man said: “I was going over to 
see a certain young woman about whom I have heard many things. 
I have heard that she thas rejected all who have wished to marry her.” 
The young woman said that she was the chief’s daughter. The young 
man replied that the was the chief’s son. They said to one another: 
“Well, we are of the same mind. What shall we do? Shall we go to 
my home or to yours?” ‘The chief’s son replied, “Well, we will go 
over to your home.” ‘Then the chief’s daughter told the chief’s son 
that they had better go to his home instead of hers. After they had 
decided where to go they agreed to marry, whether their people liked 
it or not. 

They went out to the young man’s home to live, and on their 
arrival went to bed. Early on the next morning, when the people woke 
up, they expected the young man to come down the same as he had 
always done. It was customary for the old men to gather at the chief’s 
lodge and pass the time by talking; so also, the old women came to 
see the chief’s wife, if they belonged to the same family. It was the 
duty of the chief’s wife to do the cooking for those who came around 
the tipi. Early the next morning there was no sign of the chief’s 
daughter at her home, and her people were surprised that she was sleep- 
ing so late. Finally the girl’s mother went up to the girl’s bed, and 
there was no sign of her in the bed. They then supposed that some one 
had carried her off and killed her; for they knew that if any one asked 
her for connection she would refuse. This is what made them think 
some one had carried her off to kill her. Over at the young man’s 
home the people waited and waited for him to get out of bed and go to 
the creek for a bath. They sent some one of the family to see why the 
young man was not getting up. When the person reached the place 
where the chief’s son was lying he found that there was some one else 
in bed with him. ‘The person returned and notified the people. They 
then thought the chief’s son had been away to get married and had 


gO THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


come home with some one. They again sent the person to tell the 
young man to come to breakfast, and, if it was a woman with him, to 
come at once and let them see who she might be. The chief’s son and 
chief’s ‘daughter came into the lodge where the young man’s parents 
were. When the people knew who she was they were angry, for both 
had always refused to marry outside of the chiefs’ families. The two 
ate breakfast, and after this, the people told them that if they remained 
husband and wife they would have to leave the place and go somewhere 
else to live. : 

In the girl’s village, the chief sent ovit men in search of his daugh- 
ter, but she could not be found in the village. The Coyote, who was 
then servant for the chief, went through the village where they lived, 
then went to the other village, looking for the chief’s daughter. He 
went from one grass-lodge to another, until he came to the chief’s lodge, 
and there he found the chief’s daughter with the chief’s son. The 
Coyote returned to his own village and notified the chief there that his 
daughter was living with the other chief’s son. When the chief heard 
this he was troubled, because his daughter had refused to marry apy 
one in her own village. This chief then sent word by the Coyote to 
his daughter never to return to her home, since she had gone away with 
the chief’s son. The young folks had no place to stay. ‘They at once 
began to think of places wherein they could live and not trouble any- 
one. They decided to leave the village and live by themselves some- 
where else, out where there was no one living. 

One night, ‘after all had gone to sleep, they prepared to leave their 
home permanently. They started on a long journey looking for a new 
home for themselves. The young man had all his weapons, so as to 
hunt for food, and the woman had all she could carry, having every- 
thing she needed. They traveled nearly all day, and when the woman 
grew tired they stopped for the night. The next day they ate and 
traveled again. That entire day they looked for a place to live, but no 
place suited them, and when darkness came, they made a camp and 
stayed all night. The next day they traveled all day until night, but 
still could not find a place to suit them, and stopped again for a night’s 
rest. The next morning, after breakfast, they started on another day’s 
journey. They traveled all the folowing day until night and stopped 
for a night’s rest. ‘They traveled the next day, and about evening 
they came to a place where there was plenty of timber, and a river by 
the timber. They selected this place for their home. They fixed up the 
place and the woman built a grass-lodge and a sort of drying arbor for 
corn and meat. From this time on the man went out hunting every day, 


THE DEEDS OF AFTER-BIRTH-BOY. Ol 


and when he went out hunting he sometimes brought home buffalo meat, 
deer meat, or any other things that he could kill. Some time afterwards 
the woman told her husband that she was pregnant. Once upon a time 
when this man was going out hunting he told his wife to fix up a piece 
of meat to cook by the fire; that while he was gone some one would 
come and eat the meat. He told her not to look at him when the per- 
son should come in; that when she should hear him coming she should 
get into her bed and cover herself up; that she would have to do this 
every day while he went out hunting. That morning, after the woman 
had done as she had been told, her husband went out on a hunting trip. 
He would sometimes stay out late and come back at night, sometimes 
before night. 

While the woman was. staying at home by herself she heard some 
one talking and saw some one coming toward their place. She got into 
bed and covered herself with buffalo robes. The person came in and 
ate the meat that she had cooked, and after eating the meat up he 
went away. After the woman heard him go she got out of her bed. 
Late that evening her man returned from the hunt and asked his wife 
if the man had come and eaten up what she had cooked. She said the 
person had come and had eaten what she had cooked. Again her hus- 
band told her that she would have to do this every day, but that she 
must not look at the person and must not pay any attention to him 
while he ate. From that time on, every morning her husband went 
hunting, and she prepared the meat, so that it became a part of her 
work. Every afternoon she began to think of taking a look at the 
person, just to see what sort of looking man he was who came to visit 
her during her husband’s absence. Time went on, and she still had in 
mind to try some way to take a look at him. One time, after her 
husband had left, she bored a hole in the robe and took a piece of 
hollow grass big enough to look through and put it in the hole, and 
before she heard the person coming, she lay down on her bed, which 
was on the west side of the room in the grass-lodge. Finally he 
came, and began to eat, and after he had eaten what beef was there 
by the fire he started away. As he was leaving, the woman peeped 
through the grass stem, and saw that the man was double headed and 
had a mouth on the back of his neck. Just then the man turned back, 
and said: “Oh, you have looked at me!” He came where she was 
lying, killed her, cut her open and took out the child that she had in 
her womb. After taking out the child, the man wrapped it up in a robe 
and put it away in some other place instead of putting it where its 
mother was lying. He then took the after-birth, thrust the fire-stick 
into it and threw it into the water ; then he left the place. 


Q2 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


That evening, when the man returned from the hunt, he found his 
wife dead, and thought that she must have disobeyed and looked at 
the man. He took his dead wife some distance away and laid her there 
for burial, but instead of burying her under the ground he laid her on 
top of the ground, and returned home. After he went home he heard 
the child crying somewhere, but could not find where the sound of the 
child’s crying came from. He finally succeeded in finding the young 
one. He nursed the young child, which was a boy. The only way he 
could nurse it was to give it fresh beef and let it suck it, and in that way 
he reared it. When the time came that he had to go out hunting he had 
to take the young child along with him, and there were times when he 
had to stay at home on account of the young child. But the child grew 
rapidly, and finally he got so big that he began to crawl around, and 
after a while he began to walk. Still the man would take the child along 
hunting. At last the boy was big enough to play by himself. The man 
then made a bow and arrows for him to play with, also a shinny ball 
and stick. This ball was what we call “ball-for-young-boys” (kasints- 
wiks). . 

After a while the man when going out on a hunt left the boy at 
home, for he knew that he was old enough to take care of himself. 
After the boy’s father left, while he was in the grass-lodge by himself, 
the boy heard some one coming around where he was. When the boy 
looked back ‘at the door there he saw a boy about his own age, who was 
calling him to come and have an arrow game with him. The game is 
called “shooting-a-small-plaited-sinew-on-the-fly” (liakucks). The 
strange boy won all of the arrows from the boy of the lodge. After 
the strange boy had won all of the lodge boy’s arrows he went off 
toward the river, and the lodge boy saw him going into the water. 
Before leaving, the strange boy told the lodge boy that they were 
brothers and that he should not tell their father regarding his coming 
-around. After the strange boy had left, the lodge boy began to wonder 
who the strange boy was who claimed that his father was also the father 
of the other boy. When the father came back that day he asked his 
boy what he had done with his arrows. The boy told him what his 
brother had instructed him to say if asked this question by his father. 
He said he had lost all of the arrows that he had given him and could 
not find them. His father then asked him if they both might not go 
and look for the arrows, but the boy refused to do so, and said that 
he knew that the arrows were lost and could not be found. So that 
evening the man began to make some more arrows for his son, and when 
he had finished them, gave them to him and told him not to lose them 


THE DEEDS OF AFTER-BIRTH-BOY. 93 


as he had lost the rest of his arrows. When he should shoot he was to 
watch the arrow and see where it might go, for there was much trouble 
in making arrows. The next day the man went out on a hunting trip. 
After he had gone, the strange boy came again and asked his brother 
to come and have that same game with him again. They commenced 
to play, betting their arrows. All that day they played, until the 
strange boy won the game from his brother. The lodge boy was with- 
out arrows again. Before leaving, the strange boy said: “Do not 
tell your father that I have been here and won all of your arrows, but 
tell him that you lost them shooting birds.” The strange boy then left 
again, going toward the river, and the lodge boy watched to see where 
he would go. He saw him going into the water again, instead of going 
on dry land and living there. In the evening the boy’s father returned 
again from the hunt. When he arrived he asked his boy again what he 
had done with all his arrows. His boy repeated what he had been told 
to say, saying he had lost all of his arrows shooting birds. He said that 
he had been off a good long way, where he lost the arrows. The boy’s 
father again asked if they could not go over there and see if they could 
find the arrows, but the boy said he thought he had lost them for good, 
and they could not be found. After the boy said this, his father had to 
believe him, and at once started to make just as many arrows as the 
boy had before. } 

The boy’s father began to think there must be something wrong, 
for he did not understand how the boy could lose all his arrows in one 
day. On the next morning, after they had eaten their breakfast, the 
boy’s father went out hunting. He left the lodge boy at home. Every 
time he went out he would cook some meat for his son to eat while he 
was away. As soon as the boy’s father had gone the strange boy came 
around again and called the lodge boy out to play the arrow game 
with him, the same as they had always played. They again began to 
play their arrow game, and about noon the boy invited his brother to 
enter the lodge and have something to eat with him. They both went 
in and ate what the lodge boy had, and after they had eaten they com- 
menced to play again, until the visiting boy had won all the arrows 
from the lodge boy. After winning the arrows he repeated the same 
words that he always had said about what he should tell his father 
regarding the loss of his arrows. The strange boy started off again, 
going toward the water. He went into the water. The lodge boy 
now began to wonder how the strange boy could live in the water. He 
then decided to tell his father, so that they might attack the strange 
boy and make him stay with them instead of living in the water. He 


O4 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


also wanted to find out from his father why this strange boy called him 
brother. The boy’s father arrived again, and when he asked the boy 
what he had done with all his arrows, the boy said to his father: 
“There is always some one around me, a boy about my age, who calls 
me ‘brother.’” The lodge boy then described the strange boy to his 
father. He told him that the strange boy had a wonderful tail that 
looked like a stick used for a poker, and that this boy was the one who 
won all of his arrows; that when the strange boy left he always went 
toward the river and got into the water; that he always called him 
“brother.” The boy’s father asked him if he had learned the strange 
boy’s name. He told his father that the strange boy called himself 
After-birth-Boy (Hawhiswiks). The boy’s father then began to think 
how the strange boy could live in the water, and why he called his 
son “brother,” and himself “father,” the same as his son. He then 
found out who the boy was and told his son that the strange boy 
was surely his brother; that the boy’s mother had been killed by some 
man; that he had left him (the lodge boy) in the lodge, and had 
taken the after-birth and perhaps thrown it in the water; that this, 
possibly, was the way the strange boy came to live in the water. The 
man then made some more arrows, and on the next day they ar- 
ranged to attack the strange boy and make him stay at home. On the 
next day, the man remained at home instead of going out hunting. He 
then instructed the lodge-boy, saying: “Go ahead and play the arrow 
game, and when the strange boy wins all the arrows I will be somewhere 
about the lodge. You must invite After-birth-Boy to come in with you 
and eat. Then get him to look in your head for bugs, then get him to - 
let you look in his head to see if there are any bugs; but let him look in 
your head first, so you can look in his head last. Then tie his hair up 
so that you can get a good hold when attacking him.” 

That morning After-birth-Boy came around again and called the 
lodge boy out to play with him. Their father then turned himself into 
a fire stick and lay down by the fireplace. The lodge boy went out and 
met After-birth-Boy, who called him “brother,” and they began to play 
the arrow game. After they had been playing the game a while the 
lodge boy made out that he was tired, and told After-birth-Boy to go 
into the lodge and rest a while and have something to eat. So they 
went into the lodge. As soon as they had entered the grass-lodge 
After-birth-Boy went right back out, and said to the lodge boy: “The 
old man, our father, is in the lodge. He has turned himself into a stick 
used for a poker.” After-birth-Boy then went out into the water and 
did not come back. ‘Their father then appeared and told the lodge boy 


THE DEEDS OF AFTER-BIRTH-BOY. 95 


that After-birth-Boy was a wonderful boy and had great powers. That 
evening the man made some more arrows for his sons to play with the 
next day, that he might in some way capture After-birth-Boy. The 
next day he again put off his hunting trip. That morning A fter-birth- 
Boy came around and called his brother to come out to him and play 
the arrow game. The lodge boy went out to meet him and to have an 
arrow game, but before After-birth-Boy came their father hid himself 
behind the door, turning himself into a stem of grass. While they were 
playing, After-birth-Boy asked the lodge boy if their father had gone 
out on a hunt. The lodge boy said that he had. Again, at noon, the 
lodge boy began to beg After-birth-Boy to stop a while and rest and 
then eat before they played any more. After-birth-Boy was then wild, 
because they had tried to play a trick on him. He looked into the grass- 
lodge and found no one there. They entered and ate dinner. After 
dinner was over the lodge boy told After-birth-Boy that his head itched, 
and asked him to look into it and see if there were any lice there. 
After-birth-Boy then looked into the lodge boy’s head for a long time. 
When he got tired the lodge boy asked him to allow him to look in 
his head. The lodge boy got hold of After-birth-Boy’s head and looked 
into it, but instead of looking for lice, he began to tie his hair and 
tangle it up so that he might get a good hold when he called his father 
for help. Wihen After-birth-Boy was tired he would ask the lodge boy 
what he was doing, for the lodge boy was hurting him. Finally, when 
the lodge boy had got a good hold, he called to his father to come and 
help him, saying that he had a good hold. Just then After-birth-Boy 
jumped up and began to run, dragging the lodge boy. ,Their father got 
to them and they had a hard time holding After-birth-Boy. The lodge 
boy would beg After-birth-Boy to stop, saying he had always called 
him brother and he wanted him to live with them instead of visiting 
him. But After-birth-Boy kept dragging them toward the river, and 
then their father began to beg the boy to stop. Before they reached the 
river After-birth-Boy told the two to loose him for a while; that he 
was willing to live with them thereafter. After-birth-Boy was released 
and jumped into the river, and when he came out of the water both of 
his arms were full of arrows that he had won from the lodge boy. So 
they all went toward their grass-lodge to live together thereafter. 

The next day the boys’ father made a shinny ball and two sticks 
and some more arrows and a netted ring. When making the ring he told 
the boys not to roll it toward the west. He then forbade them to go to 
several places: Spider-Woman (Itsezgarhenegits), Thunderbird-that- 
had-a-Nest (Geleassegits), Double-Faced-Monster (Witschatska), 


96 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


Headless-Man (Chearppeschaux) ; and the place where they were told 
not to roll the ring. These were the places their father forbade them 
to go. The next day the father of the boys went out hunting and told 
the boys to remain at home, for they must not go out in the timber to 
shoot birds. Their father was out hunting that whole day. When he 
returned from his hunt he found his boys at home. ‘The man then 
cooked for the boys some fresh meat that he had brought home with 
him. ‘Tihis was the second night that After-birth-Boy had been with 
his father and brother. The next day the man went out hunting again. 
After-birth-Boy asked his brother to go with him where their father 
had forbidden them to go, where the Spider-Woman was. So they 
started early, right after their father started out on the hunt. While 
on the way they shot a good many birds to take to the Spider-Woman. 
They finally reached the place where the woman was living. They 
went to a place where they saw smoke coming out from the ground. 
On entering they were received kindly by the Spider-Woman. The 
two boys gave her the birds they had shot for her to eat. The Spider- 
Woman then asked the boys to sit down in her lodge. This woman was 
pleased to see them, and asked where they had come from. She then 
told the boys that she loved to eat birds, and that they should bring the 
birds to her; that that was the best thing anyone had ever done for 
her. She then told the boys to bring a pail full of water. There was 
a pail, but no one knows where the pail came from, nor what it was 
made out of. The boys did what the old woman told them to do. 
While they were out after the water After-birth-Boy told his brother 
that after their return with the water the woman would boil the water, 
and as soon as it should begin to boil she would catch them and throw 
them into the boiling water. After-birth-Boy told his brother to get 
on the side where the water was not boiling; that he himself would be 
on the boiling side; that while in the bucket he should urinate and de- 
fecate in the boiling water, and when he (After-birth-Boy) should get 
ready, he would notify him to make a quick jerk, and in that way ‘he 
would upset the bucket and pour the boiling water on the Spider- 
Woman and scald and kill her. When the boys took the pail of water 
into the lodge where this woman was she took it and put it on the fire 
to boil. As soon as the water got to boiling the woman crowded the 
boys away from the door, caught them and threw them into the boiling 
water. After-birth-Boy had great powers, and gave his brother power 
to live in the boiling water. He got on the side where the water was 
boiling the most, and both urinated. They could hear the Spider- 
Woman say that they were awfully fat, as was shown by the movement 


THE DEEDS OF AFTER-BIRTH-BOY. Q7 


in the water. All at once, After-birth-Boy gave his brother a slight 
nudge and they both got ready to upset the bucket and pour the boiling 
water on the Spider-Woman. This they did, and scalded the Spider- 
Woman to death. After they found they had killed the woman where 
their father had told them not to go, they said to one another, “Let 
us go home and tell our father what we have done.”’ They turned back 
to their home and on their arrival they found that their father had not 
come home. The next evening the boys’ father came home from his 
hunting trip. The two boys were then old enough to do the cooking, 
so they did the cooking for their father. While they were eating supper 
they told their father what they had done. They told him that they 
had been to Spider-Woman’s home, where he had forbidden them to go, 
and had killed her. 

The father told the boys not to go where the Thunderbird had its 
nest. Some time after, After-birth-Boy took a notion to go and see the 
nest of the Thunderbird. When their father had left on his hunting 
trip the two boys started on their way to the nest. They had their 
arrows and bows along, and while on their way to the place they shot 
at birds for fun. They finally reached the place where the nest was. 
After-birth-Boy told his brother to watch him climb the tree. The 
tree was a high cottonwood, having hardly any limbs, only at the 
top, where the nest was. After-birth-Boy began to climb the tree, and 
when about half-way up there the Thunderbird came after him. When 
After-birth-Boy heard the Thunderbird coming, the bird made a sound 
like heavy wind, and left a streak of lightning which took off one of 
After-birth-Boy’s limbs. But he kept going up the tree, and when he 
went up a little higher down came the Thunderbird, and this time it took 
off one of his arms. Whenever this bird took off a limb After-birth- 
Boy would ask his brother to bring his limb to the tree, so that he could 
get it again. He kept on going, for he wanted to see what was up 
in the nest. He continued to climb, and when he had got higher the 
Thunderbird came down again, and this time took off his left leg. He 
called his brother to get his leg and bring it where he was so that he 
could get it. After-birth-Boy first lost his right leg, then his left arm, 
then this left leg, until he had but one limb left. He was still going, 
and as he approached the nest down came the Thunderbird again and 
took off his right arm. This left him without any limbs, but he was 
right there at the nest. He looked in, and there he saw four young 
birds.. He then bit one of the young ones on the wing and asked it 
what sort of a young bird it was. The young bird answered him, 
saying he was the child of Early-Morning-Weather-when-there-is-no- 


98 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


Wind-the-Sun-rising-slowly-followed-by-clear-Weather. He set the. 
young bird back and told it that he was the kind of a child he wanted 
to see. He picked up the next one and asked what kind of a young bird 
it was. The young bird answered him, saying that he was a child of 
Hard-Windy-Weather-followed-by-hard - Rain - accompanied - by - Light- 
ning-that-strikes. After-birth-Boy threw the young bird off, and told it 
that it was a bad young bird. He then picked up the next one and 
asked it what sort of a young bird it was. The young one answered 
that it was the child of Quiet-Foggy-Day-Weather-such-as-comes-in- 
early-Morning. He then set the bird back and told it that it was a good 
child. Then he picked up the last one and asked it what sort of a child 
it was. The young one answered him, saying that he was a child of 
Cyclone-Weather. He threw this bird off and told it that it was a child 
that he had no use for. After-birth-Boy now began to slide down; for 
he could not climb down. When he came down he told his brother to 
get his arms and legs, for he could not move to get them himself. He 
ordered this brother to put on him the right arm first. Then he told 
his brother to put on his left leg. He ordered his brother to put on his 
left arm. Then he ordered his brother to get the right leg and place it 
in the right place. The brother obeyed, and the boy had on all his limbs 
again. The boys then started to their home, and on their arrival they 
found their father already home. Their father asked the boys why they 
had been late in coming. The boys told him they had been to the 
Thunderbird’s nest, where he had told them not to go. After-birth-Boy 
said he climbed the tree and had all his arms and legs pulled off by the 
Thunderbird, but that he reached the top, killed two of the young birds 
and saved two of them, as they were good young birds. Their father 
then began to think that he had a wonderful boy, and that he must have 
great powers, judging from what he had already done. 

Some time after they had been to the nest they started out shoot- 
ing birds, and while they were out they found a long stone lying on 
the ground, that was somewhat like the shape of a human being. After- 
birth-Boy told his brother that they must take this home, for their 
father to use in sharpening his knife. They carried it home. The boys 
reached home that day before their father came; the boys showed him 
what they had brought for him. Their father asked them where they 
had found the stone. The boys told where they had found it, and then 
the father told them to take it back,where they got it, for it was their 
mother. After their father had laid her away the woman had turned 
into stone. That evening the boys took the stone back where they 
had got it. 


THE DEEDS OF AFTER-BIRTH-BOY. Q9 


The next day, after their father had gone out to hunt, After-birth- 
Boy asked his brother to come and go to the caves, where something 
that killed their mother was living, where their father had forbidden 
them to go. ‘The boys started on to this place, and they traveled all 
around the rough places, and finally came to the caves. There they 
found some young Double-Faced-Monsters. Upon entering the place 
the young ones tried to scratch them. When they scratched A fter-birth- 
Boy these young ones broke off their claws. When they scratched the 
other boy they would leave some blood streaks and suck their claws. 
The boys then noticed some things hanging in the cave. They asked 
what these things were. The young Double-Faced-Monsters said that 
they were their lungs and that if anything attacked their father and 
mother they would come out safe, for there were no lungs in them. 
After-birth-Boy then took one of his arrows and stuck one of the lungs 
with the point of an arrow. These were the largest ones, and when he 
stuck one the other one began to move, and the young ones said that 
that was their father’s lungs. Then he stuck another of the largest 
ones, and as soon as he had done so it stopped moving around. Then 
he commenced on the little ones, and whenever he stuck one, one of 
the young ones would fall to the ground. He kept on until he had killed 
every one of them but one, anid this one they saved for their father for 
a pet. They returned to their home, and on their arrival found their 
father. They presented the young Double-Faced-Monster to him and 
told him that they had been where he had forbidden them to go; that 
they had visited the Double-Faced-Monsters, and had killed all of them 
but the one that they had saved for him to keep for a pet. Their father 
then told them to take it back where they got it and turn it loose, for he 
did not want it. The boys took this young one back and turned it loose 
and returned home at once. 

It was several days before they took a notion to go off somewhere 
else, and when the time came they went out after their father had gone 
on a hunt. They took along their shinny ball, two sticks, bows and 
arrows, and at once started to where they were forbidden to go. On 
their way they saw some one standing a good way from them, who told 
them not to come near him, but the boys kept on until they came where 
he was. This man was the same man that their father had told about, 
the Headless-Man. ‘This man had a shinny stick and ball. He told 
the boys that. their lives would be taken, but first, they would have to 
play the shinny game, and if they should lose the game they would have 
to die. After-birth-Boy told the Headless-Man if he should lose his 
game he would have to die, too; and that at first they must use their 
ball instead of his. But the Headless-Man refused to do so, and said 


IOO THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


that they would have to use his, for his was the best. So After-birth- 
Boy told his brother to go toward the west as far as the ball would 
fly to him and to knock it back, for in that way they wanted to make 
the Headless-Man give out first, before they should make the ball go 
over the goal. The boy went as he was told to do. After-birth-Boy 
then asked the Headless-Man to let him see his ball, and see if it was 
the best. When After-birth-Boy got the ball he tossed it up and 
knocked it to pieces. The Headess-Man then told After-birth-Boy that 
since he had spoiled his (the Headless-Man’s) ball they would ‘have 
to use theirs. The Headless-Man then asked for the ball, expecting to 
do the same thing as After-birth-Boy had done when tossing up the 
Headless-Man’s ball. When tossing it up After-birth-Boy hit the ball, 
and it went where the other boy was. While the ball was flying the 
Headless-Man was right after it. When it reached the lodge boy he 
knocked it back again toward After-birth-Boy, and the Headless-Man 
was right behind again, after the ball, to catch it before it could reach 
After-birth-Boy. This showed the boys what a fast runner the Head- 
less-Man was. They kept knocking the ball back and forth, and the 
Headless-Man was always right behind it. Finally, when they found 
that the Headless-Man had nearly given out, After-birth-Boy knocked 
the ball once more, and it went over the lodge boy, over a small creek 
that the Headless-Man had chosen for a goal. The Headless-Man then 
stopped to take one long breath, and said: “This is the first time I 
ever had so hard a game as I had to-day.” The Headless-Man then 
begged the boys to let him live and not to kill him, promising them the 
same kind of powers that he himself had. After-birth-Boy told him 
that he did not want any such powers. After-birth-Boy then took the 
string off from his bow, passed it four times through his hands, and 
killed the Headless-Man with it. The Headless-Man’s ball was black, 
and his shinny stick was black. The two boys had a green ball and 
green sticks, green representing the spring of the year. Since that 
time the shinny game is played in the spring, under the power of After- 
birth-Boy. After they had killed the Headless-Man the boys returned 
to their home, where, upon their arrival, they found their father, who 
asked them where they had been. The boys told him that they had 
been where the Headless-Man was, where he had forbidden them to go, 
and that they had had a hard shinny game with him, but that he could 
not do anything with them and that they ran him down and killed him. 

After that it was their custom to remain at home several days, and 
once in a while to go out and shoot birds, and sometimes to remain at 
home without going anywhere, for their father was doing the hunting. 


THE DEEDS OF: AFTER-BIRTH-BOY. IOI 


One day while the boys were at home After-birth-Boy asked his brother 
to bring out the netted ring and roll it where they were forbidden to 
roll it. The boy went into their lodge and brought out the ring and 
rolled it toward the west, then they ran after it, but the ring kept on 
going, and they went after it with the expectation of catching up with 
it. The boys were running as hard as they could, but had no idea that 
they could not stop. Finally After-birth-Boy tried to stop, but could 
not. After-birth-Boy then told his brother to go on, and see where the 
ring was going, saying they would soon find out. They kept on until 
they saw a great lake, and the netted ring was going toward it. It 
kept going until it went into the water. The boys followed, and found 
themselves inside of some great water-monster. After-birth-Boy said 
to his brother that this was the first time anything had ever mastered 
them without his knowing it. There is no telling how long they stayed 
in there. 

When their father reached home he found his boys gone, and 
thought they were in trouble, or were killed. He left the place, became 
a Star, and went up into the sky. The boys were still inside of the 
water-monster. After-birth-Boy took the string of his bow, passed it 
through his left hand four times and commenced to swing it around, 
and when he swung it hard up went the monster, and it fell somewhere. 
The monster fell on dry land, but they did not know where. They at 
once began to look for a place to get out. They went through the hind 
part of the monster. They then saw that it was a great, big fish. After 
they were out they started toward their home. They reached their 
home and found no trace of their father. The weeds had grown up 
and the vines had grown over their grass-lodge in places, and in places 
the lodge had turned to the bark of a tree. After-birth-Boy began to 
look around to find out what had become of their father. He found his 
track, but the track ended, and he could not find what his father had 
turned into. After-birth-Boy told his brother that there was one more 
thing he wanted to look into when darkness should come. They re- 
mained at their former home until night. When darkness came After- 
birth-Boy got on his father’s trail again, and where his tracks stopped 
he looked up into the sky and found one star, and this he thought to be 
their father. He then told his brother that he was going to shoot at 
the star with an arrow, and if it was his father a drop of blood would 
fall. He took one of his arrows and shot it up in the sky, then waited 
a moment, and while they were standing a drop of blood fell on After- 
birth-Boy’s hand. He told his brother that a drop of blood had come 
down, showing them that the star was their father. After-birth-Boy 


102 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


then called his brother to come where he was, and when the boy went 
where his brother was he shot up into the sky two arrows, by means of 
which they climbed up into the sky to be with their father. These 
two boys were great boys to do all sorts of things that were super- 
natural, but they were but young boys, especially After-birth-Boy, who 
was known to have been raised in the water. These boys were the ones 
who killed all the meanest things that lived in those times. After they 
had gone up into the sky the whole of the story of After-birth-Boy 
and his brother ends. 


13. THE THUNDERBIRD AND THE WATER-MONSTER.* 


There was once a village that had’two chiefs. They had a sort of 
division line between them. On the east side, the Thunderbird 
(Kitihakuts) was chief, but no one remembers who was chief of the 
west side. The Thunderbird had a good character and everybody 
thought well of him, though there were a few people who wished to do 
him wrong and hated him in every way. In those times the people who 
had evil thoughts were called Evil-Spirited-Persons (Naaniawacadiki). 
In this place there were played all kinds of games, and they wagered 
the life of a person, the winner taking the life of the loser. In the 
Thunderbird’s village there lived the Coyote (Ketox), who was nephew 
to the chief. Once in a while the Coyote would go and see the hand- 
game played by some of the people, and expected to beat them playing. 
The hand-game was the gambling game of the people of these times, 
and the wager was generally large, as they bet their lives and weapons. 
Whenever the Coyote went to see the game the chief would beg him to 
bring along his uncle the next time he came, and on his return the 
Coyote would ask his uncle to go along with him the next time he 
should go; but his uncle would refuse to do so, for he knew that it was 
a dangerous place to go, for the people in the place were seeking in 
some way to do him wrong. 

The Thunderbird was a great hunter, and the things he hunted 
were the ones that hated him. The Coyote continued to go and see the 
hand-game played, and every time he went the chief would ask him 
why he had not brought his uncle along. So every time the Coyote 
came back from the hand-game he would tell his uncle what the people 
had said regarding him, but his uncle would say it was a place to lose 
one’s life cheap. Once upon a time the Coyote asked his uncle again 
to go along with him to see the game. The Thunderbird said to his 


*Told by Ahahe (Waco). 


THE THUNDERBIRD AND THE WATER-MONSTER. 103 


nephew: “All right, if you think the fun is more for your advantage 
than for mine, I will go along with you to see the game.” The Coyote 
began to think that there must be some danger. He said to his uncle, 
“What do you mean?” The Thunderbird said: ‘“You will see, and you 
will wish that you had never begged me to go along with you to the 
hand-game.” ‘They entered the place where the hand-game was go- 
ing on. When they were seen the Coyote was in the lead, and felt 
proud because his uncle was there. In the lodges where they were 
having the hand-game, the door faced east, and upon entering the lodge 
the people were called to the wet part of the lodge, where they saw a 
sort of high hump, and it was covered up. The Thunderbird was asked 
to sit down, which he did, and the Coyote felt proud because he thought 
he and his uncle were being treated with distinction. The game went 
on, and was being played by some stranger who had come there and 
was asked to play. When the stranger lost the game the playing came 
to an end and the men began to leave the place, but the Thunderbird 
thought he had better wait until everybody had left the lodge before 
he should leave. So when everybody had left he started to rise, but 
failed, for he had been stuck to the hump in the presence of everybody. 
The thing began to move, and when it moved he found that it was 
some sort of a water-monster that was under him, and it moved toward 
a small lake that the people knew to be deep. It moved slowly, and the 
Coyote followed after to see what was going to become of his uncle. 
Wherever the Thunderbird went he always carried his bow and four 
arrows, his bow painted black, two of his arrows painted black and 
two blood color, and his bow had a sort of red tassel at the upper end. 
He told his nephew that as long as he should see the tassel he might 
know that his uncle was still alive, but when it was no longer in sight 
he might know that he was drowned. There were a great many of the 
people who followed the monster to the shore to see what it was 
going to do. The Coyote was right by the side of the monster, talking 
to his uncle, and saying: ‘You have great powers, why do you not 
free yourself from the monster? You can do it.’ But the Coyote 
was then told that it was all his fault that he had lost his uncle. The 
Coyote would then cry out fearfully for his uncle, but there were a 
great many people who mocked the Coyote and were glad to see his 
uncle die. The monster reached the lake and went into the water. He 
went to the bottom of the lake instead of swimming, and they kept 
going down and down, until only the top of the monster’s head could 
be seen, then the water went over the Thunderbird’s head. Then the 
bow began to sink until the tassel on the end of the bow could scarcely 


104 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


be seen, and finally the whole thing was gone. After this, everybody 
left the shore of the lake and went to their homes. Some were glad to 
see the Thunderbird drown, for they hated him, but there were some 
who regretted it and wept bitterly for the loss of their chief. There 
was the Coyote alone when his uncle had lost his life for his sake, the 
Coyote having begged him to go along to see the hand-game. On the 
next day most of the people left the village to go somewhere else to 
make their homes, and finally everybody left their former village and 
followed the rest of the people. 

In this village were left an old man, old woman, and their grand- 
children. For a long time these folks lived ‘here alone. The boys would 
go around the village into other grass-lodges and look for things that 
had been left by the people who had left their homes, and would go 
around the lake and shoot birds, which was their way of having fun. 
Once upon a time, when these boys were around the lake they heard 
some one singing, but did not know for certain where the sound came 
from. They stood around to catch the sound and find out where the 
singing was. When they could not locate the sound, they left the lake 
and turned back to their home. They told their grandfather and 
grandmother about the singing they had heard, and the old man sat 
there, thinking what it could have been, till finally it came to him. He 
asked the boys where they had been. They told him that they were 
near the lake. Then he told them there was some one who was known 
to have lost his life in the lake; that the person was the Thunderbird, 
who had been a great chief and a man of good character; that he had 
been to a hand-game, was seated on something that was covered up, and 
when ‘he came to try to get up he found that he was stuck to a water- 
monster so that he could not get off, while the monster moved off into 
the lake and he was drowned; that he must be the one who was doing 
the singing. So ‘he told the boys that if there was still any flesh on that 
man there was life in him; that they should again go over to the lake 
and bring rocks to the shore and get plenty of them, too, and after so 
doing they should pile the rocks up and haul plenty of wood; that they 
should pile the wood on the bottom and some on the top, and after that 
should burn the wood; that when this was all burned up they should 
throw all the stones into the water. The boys went to the lake the next 
day, and there was by the lake a small hill, and from this place they 
carried stones all the following day, and after they thought they had 
stones enough they hauled plenty of wood to the shore where they had 
piled the stones. After they thought they had enough wood they spread 
it on the ground, piled the stonesyon top of it, and after they had put 


THE THUNDERBIRD AND THE WATER-MONSTER. 105 


all the stones upon it they again piled wood on top of them and then 
everything was ready but the fire. One of the boys went back home to 
bring a burning stick and at once started back to the lake. On the boy’s 
arrival he set the wood on fire and it began to burn. After the stones 
were heated red hot they took them and threw all of them into the water, 
then returned to their home and told the old man about it. On the 
next day the old man told the boys to go back to the lake and see what 
had been done there. The boys went on toward the lake, and on 
their arrival there they found the lake all dried up, and there they saw 
the water-monster. They again turned back to their home and reported 
to their grandfather regarding the water-monster. Then all went down 
to the lake and cut up the monster, and inside the monster they found 
the bones of the Thunderbird. They took all the bones, examined them, 
and found on the bones of the fingers a small piece of flesh. Then the 
old man told the boys that this must be the thing that was doing the 
singing, for there was still life in the hand. They then took the bones 
home. When they reached home the old man told his wife to build a 
small grass-lodge, big enough for the man to stand inside of it. The old 
woman at once began to work on this as the old man had requested her 
to do. Next day the old man took the bones of this man and put them 
all in their places, and after so doing set the lodge on fire. When the 
lodge commenced to burn the old man hallooed to the Thunderbird 
and told him to get out of the lodge, for it was on fire. Then he hallooed 
the second time, the third and fourth time, and at the fourth time 
there came out from the burning lodge the Thunderbird, his bow and 
arrow with him, and he was the same as he ever had been. 

When the Thunderbird ‘got out of the burning lodge the first thing 
he asked was, where the people had gone who used to live in the village. 
They told him that the whole village had left and that some had left 
the village happy, and some mourning for him. After this they all 
went into the lodge and the Thunderbird was given something to eat. 
After he had eaten he went out hunting, and the following day he killed 
a buffalo and brought it home with him, and it was as much as he 
could haul. He went on back to where he was staying, and late in the 
evening arrived at the place with the meat, and the people had plenty 
of meat to eat this time. The Thunderbird then told him that he had 
left some of the meat hanging in a tree, and that on the next day he 
should go hunting he wanted the boys to go with him and bring home 
the rest of the meat, while he should go on to hunt some more. So on the 
next day he and the boys went out to the place where he had left the 
meat, and on their arrival at the place they took the meat and brought 


106 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


it home, while the Thunderbird went on to hunt again. On the follow- 
ing day the Thunderbird again came in with the deer meat, and from 
this time on he went out hunting every day. The people had plenty of 
meat to eat, and the boys were growing rapidly. After a time the boys 
went out hunting with the Thunderbird, and the Thunderbird gave 
them power to become great hunters. In this place he stayed for a long 
while. Once in a while the boys would go out hunting by themselves 
and let the Thunderbird stay at home, because the boys began to like 
to hunt. The Thunderbird gave them powers to hunt and the boys 
never failed to bring in something when they came from the hunt. 

Long afterward some of the people began to return home, and 
after several days came the Coyote with the crowd. On his return they 
told him that his uncle had been brought to life and was now in the 
village. The Coyote went straight to where his uncle was and saw him 
and met him at the old people’s home, where he had been brought to 
life. The Coyote at once called his uncle, the Thunderbird, to his 
home, where he stayed for the rest of his time. The rest of the people 
never returned, for they knew they had lost one of the best men in the 
village, and they expected him never to live again. After this the people 
remained in the village for all time, for they had no one to do them 
harm. The Thunderbird remained as a chief at all times, and his 
nephew was the second chief for this village. Now there were changes 
in the village, but all remained as human beings, with the exception 
of the ones who went off and never returned. 


14. THE DEEDS OF WETS-THE-BED.* 


There was once a village that extended east and west, and in the 
village lived a chief whose name was Head-Chief (FEsaraketskati). 
The chief used to paint himself under the chin with yellow paint, which 
extended clear across his chin below this nose. There was another man 
living near him who used to paint himself in black. There was a third 
chief who painted himself on his head and legs. These three chiefs 
lived in the village. No trouble or sickness had ever been known in the 
village. All enjoyed themselves. The people now often sent out 
war-parties against their neighbors, who were known as the Tricksters 
(Kinas). When they found the Tricksters they would fight them, kill 
them, and bring home their scalps to the village. Thus they would en- 
tertain themselves. In the north part of the village, in a small grass- 


*Told by Towakoni Jim (Towakoni). 


THE DEEDS OF WETS-THE-BED. 107 


lodge, lived an old man and an old woman with their little grandson. 
The boy’s name was Wets-the-Bed (Weksidahos). These people were 
very poor. Their food was scant. As the people went by they would 
amuse themselves by urinating on their lodge. The boys of the village 
beat the little boy for fun. 

As Wets-the-Bed went around the village picking up things to eat 
he heard men saying that a war-party was to be sent out by one of the 
foremost leaders. He went back to his grandparents to tell them he 
wanted to go along with the war-party. His grandmother said: “You 
cannot go. You would give out, for they will go a long way, and 
there are some bad people that go with these war-parties. You know 
how badly they have treated you at home, and if they get you away 
from home they will kill you instead of killing the enemy. They will . 
treat you worse away from home than they have at home.” Still the 
boy said, “I must go.” The time came for the war-party to start away, 
and Wets-the-Bed was determined to go. The day they set out they 
camped pretty early, and they waited for those who had fallen behind 
to come up with them. Late in the evening they looked back on their 
trail and saw some one coming. As the person came he appeared 
smaller and smaller, and finally proved to be Wets-the-Bed. The men 
said they would send him back, for he was too small to travel with them. 
There was a certain man in the party that was impetuous and had a 
quick temper. He got up, went toward Wets-the-Bed and told him 
he must go back home, saying: “We do not want you to go along, and 
if you do not go back I will kill you.” The leader of the party told his 
men to let the boy alone and allow him to accompany them. The next 
morning, however, when they started out, the leader told Wets-the- 
Bed that he must go back, for they were going too far for him, and 
they were not yet very far from home. Wets-the-Bed remained there 
while the rest of the party started off. After they had gone on he 
followed after them. When they stopped to rest the boy would catch 
up. They had their spies out to look for the enemy. When the boy 
came up with the crowd he started on. The two spies came in and 
reported to the leader what they had seen. They said there was a village 
very close to them. They proceeded to come close enough to charge 
upon the enemy. They got ready, taking off their robes and leaving 
them with Wets-the-Bed, telling him to remain there while they were 
out after the enemy. Ail had painted themselves and had their weapons 
ready for use. When they were gone, Wets-the-Bed went and jumped 
into a creek near by, and when he came out he was changed to a man; 
then he followed on to the village. As he went along he was seen by 


108 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. > 


the war-party. They wondered who he was. He went on and got 
ahead of them. He was the first in the village. He went on through. 
He entered first so as to frighten everybody in the village. The people 
in the ‘village were awakened, and unable to get their weapons and 
fight because of their fear. So the war-party had an easy time fighting 
them. The only weapon the boy had was a war-club. He wore a 
war-bonnet that none of the war-party had ever seen. It was hair 
dyed red. When he got through the village he went back to the creek, 
dived in, and when he came out he was the same as before. He then 
placed himself in position to watch the robes. He saw the people com- 
ing bringing captives and scalps, and they were talking about the 
strange person, for no one in the crowd had such a dress as Wets-the- 
Bed wore. When the men got back they kept talking about the man 
they had seen in the lead, but they could not find out who he was. The 
next day when they arrived home dances were made. When the boy 
got home the old people had to get up and have a dance by themselves, 
since the boy had been in the party. The men in the village talked 
about the man who had led in the attack upon the enemy. They were 
not able to find out who he was. 

Long after the war-party returned the same leader announced to 
his warriors that he was about to send out another war-party. The 
news came to Wets-the-Bed, who went home and told his grandparents 
that another war-party was going out and that he wanted to go with it. 
His grandfather and grandmother thought that they had better allow 
him to go, for he had been once, and if he had endured once, he might 
go again. A day was set to start. When the day came all started and 
the boy followed. When they camped late in the evening the boy was 
seen again. The men said nothing whatever about him this time. After 
dark the leader told his people to keep their eyes on the person that 
should be in the lead when they should make the attack on the enemy, 
for he knew that he himself was a pretty fast runner, and when he saw 
this young man go ahead he knew there surely must be some one 
who could run faster than he. On the next day, early in the morning, 
two spies were sent out. While on the road the spies found the enemy’s 
camp and returned to report to the leader what they had seen, saying 
they had found the village of the enemy. They went near enough to 
the village to attack it. When they came to the place they dressed them- 
selves and got ready to make the attack. They left behind them their 
robes and things that they did not need in care of Wets-the-Bed. When 
they started out, the boy turned around and went to the creek, dived 
into it, and came out changed. He went to attack the village. His 


THE DEEDS OF WETS-THE-BED. IOQ 


people watched to see who he was. As he went along he was so fast 
that the party saw fire fly behind him, and the fire was of all colors. He 
entered the village in advance of the war-party. As he entered every- 
body was awakened and frightened, so that they were unable to protect 
themselves. They forgot to get their weapons. When Wets-the-Bed 
got through the village he went on around by another way and came 
to the creek, where he dived in the water and came out changed, and 
went back to the place where he was stationed and stayed until the war- 
party came back. When the men returned to the boy and their goods 
they went home, but the boy never got a scalp. It was the custom to 
take scalps to make presents when returning to the village. When the 
war-party got home they had their dances and the boy and his grand- 
parents also danced. 

Long after, the war-party went out again, and Wets-the-Bed again 
went along. This happened four times, always as before. At the end 
of the fourth time, when they arrived home the leader of the war- 
party began to think about the man who had always beat them to the 
village of the enemy. They wondered who it could be. The leader 
knew of no faster runner than himself. 

Once upon a time the leader called all of his men together at his 
place in the night. When the people had gathered, Wets-the-Bed went 
there also to show himself. As he came around, the quick-tempered 
man came to him and said, “You do not need to come around, for you 
have no chance to get the chief’s daughter for your wife.” The boy 
went around to hear what the chief had to say. The chief then offered 
his girls to the man who could prove that he had arrived at the village 
_before the rest of the warriors and had been in the strange dress and 
had run ahead of the war-party when they attacked the enemy. After 
he had announced this to the people every one was still. No one could 
prove that he was the man. Finally Wets-the-Bed rose to his feet and 
told the people that he was the man that was first in the attack upon 
the enemy. Then he sat down. The chief announced to the people 
again that he had always thought that Wets-the-Bed might have been 
the man. He said: “If that is true, I offer my girls to him if he can 
prove that he was the first to attack the enemy and return to the village.” 
The oldest of the girls did not like Wets-the-Bed. She wished that 
some one else might have proved himself to be the man. She deter- 
mined not to accept the boy. After Wets-the-Bed had proved he was 
first to attack the enemy the men began to return home. 

It was now bedtime. Wets-the-Bed went to bed with the two 
wives. The oldest of the girls did not like him, so she kept away by 


ITO THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


herself and allowed the younger girl to lie with him. The people of the 
chief’s village would now gather at the chief’s lodge, sit up part of the 
night and talk about the past. While they were with the head chief 
sometimes they would whisper, and say, “I do not see what the chief’s 


son-in-law is good for.” Wets-the-Bed, while living with the chief’s | 


daughters, went home daily and came back at night. One day as he 
went back to his old home it happened that buffalo were seen on the 
north side of the village, and the men from the village gathered around 
the buffalo and killed them. It happened that Wets-the-Bed was at 
his home. When the men were butchering buffalo Wets-the-Bed said 
to his grandfather: “Go out there and get me some intestines. When 
you get there, help yourself and cut off the intestines. Bring them to 
me. I am hungry for them.” The grandfather said: “I do not want 
to go. You know how we are treated. If I go there they will harm 
me.” But the boy said: “Go on.” The old man thought much of his 
grandson, and so he went to the place where they were butchering. He 
grabbed at the intestines and was about to help himself, when all at 
once one man came around and said to him: “What are you doing? 
This is not yours. Why do you help yourself? It is right that you 
should ask for what you want.’ The old man said nothing. They 
made the old man put down the intestines, and they bored a hole 
through his cheeks, cut off some hide and tied it through the hole and 
sent the old men home. When he returned home he was covered with 
blood. As he entered he said to the boy: “I told you they would do 
something to me.” The boy said: “That is all I want to know.” The 
boy went out and dived in the creek. When he came out he was the 
same as when with the war-party attacking the enemy. He went where 
the men were butchering. He attracted everybody’s attention. ‘All 
looked, and they asked one another if they knew the man. No one 
could tell who he was. Wets-the-Bed asked who it was that had cut 
his grandfather’s cheeks. They pointed out the man. Wets-the-Bed 
took a knife and served the man as he had served his grandfather. He 
then commenced to talk to the people who were butchering, telling them 
that he had always thought that he was of some use to them; that he 
was doing them some good through his powers; that through him they 
had easier times in attacking the enemy; but that now, the more good 
he did them the worse they treated him; that they were treating his 
people worse than ever. He went back to the creek, jumped in and 
changed himself, then came back to his place. 

The people began to talk about what they had seen, and many 
said: “I always thought that Wets-the-Bed must be the one who had 


THE DEEDS OF WETS-THE-BED. Bit 


done wonders.” All at once the men took their loads of beef on their 
backs to Wets-the-Bed. The chief of the village called for the largest 
tipi to be found. When the tipi was found it was put up for the grand- 
parents of Wets-the-Bed. After the tipi was put up Wets-the-Bed 
went back to his wives. As he entered his home he told some of them 
to sweep out the place. He then took his young wife to the east, and 
they finally reached the creek. He dived into the creek, and when 
he came out he was the same as when attacking the enemy. He then 
took his wife and threw her in the creek. Soon he saw her hair float- 
ing on the top of the water. A's she came up she was changed and was 
very beautiful. They went toward the village. In the night everybody 
smelled a scent the two had on them, and they did not know what it 
was. ‘They wondered who was passing. Wets-the-Bed and his wife 
arrived at their home, and he changed his bed so that it looked like 
new. The older girl would never eat with Wets-the-Bed, for she 
hated him and her sister, but when she saw that he was changed she 
did not know what to do. She had remained the same, and now she 
wished she looked as well as the man and her sister. She now wanted 
to sleep with Wets-the-Bed, but the young girl refused her. She now 
did all the cooking for the two, trying to gain their favor, so that she 
might share the husband. Still the young girl refused, and told her 
if she wanted to be near them she might lie down by the bed to make a 
step for them to step on. The older sister agreed. She was losing her 
flesh and her appetite longing to be with Wets-the-Bed. 

When Wets-the-Bed and his wife were about sixteen years old 
the people of the chief’s village gathered in the chief’s lodge. When 
they entered the lodge they saw Wets-the-Bed and his wife. When 
they were told to sit down the chiefs of the village began to whisper, 
saying: “You made a mistake in saying that Wets-the-Bed was not a 
good son-in-law. You now see who this Wets-the-Bed is.” Others 
said among themselves, “I always thought there was something to this 
poor boy.” While Wets-the-Bed was living with the chief's daughter 
his sister-in-law was getting thin, but his wife told her that she had 
done wrong when she had refused her father’s command to marry 
Wets-the-Bed. 

Time went on, until finally the head chief called his servant, who 
was of dark complexion, was a very fast runner, and could move around 
very fast. He sent him around through the village to tell the men of 
the village to come to his place. Crowds began to gather. When it 
was thought they were all present they made it known to the chief. 
They asked why he had called them together. He said to the chiefs: 


bt 27 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


“Head warriors, and all you leaders, I tell you what I want done. Since 
I am getting old and am not able to remain always as your head chief, 
I will now appoint my son-in-law to be your head chief hereafter, and I 
will remain as a common man hereafter. My son-in-law is yet a young 
man and he will be a good head chief and a good leader in all things.” 
This was all the head chief had to say. The other chiefs made their 
speeches regarding Wets-the-Bed’s advancement, saying that he was 
the right kind of a man to be head chief. No objections were made. 
Wets-the-Bed was appointed as head chief, head warrior, and leader. 
When the people returned to their homes it was announced through the 
village by the different men that the chief had appointed his son-in-law 
to become the head chief in his place, and that hereafter they must 
recognize Wets-the-Bed as their head chief, head warrior, and leader. 
Wets-the-Bed took his seat as chief and the sub-chiefs of the village 
visited him the same as they had their former chief. They found that 
Wets-the-Bed was in every way just. Everybody was treated aright, 
and everything went along all right. 

The first of the main chiefs of the village was a man who painted 
himself around the nose; the next painted himself black all over and 
then made white spots on his body; the third chief painted himself white 
on his head and on his legs. Tihe first was the father of Wets-the-Bed. 
The leader of the war-parties which Wets-the-Bed had accompanied 
was painted with white clay from the corners of his eyes backward, and 
from the corners of his mouth backward. In the leader’s band of war- 
riors was a certain man who was always sent out to spy. He was of 
dark complexion and painted himself with black paint. Wets-the-Bed 


+.» had a war-bonnet made of hair, dyed red and yellow. He also painted 


himself across his body with black and white bars. His bow was made 
out of a fire poker, and his arrows were made out of sticks used for 
roasting beef. 

Long after Wets-the-Bed had begun to serve as head chief he was 
troubled because the older chief’s daughter was wasting away in flesh, 
for her younger sister would not allow her to share her husband. 
Finally the called his people together to his lodge. When they had come 
together he announced that since his appointment as chief many things 
had gone all right, and that the people had done whatever he directed ; 
therefore, since he had helped them in many ways he now wanted to 
go where he had come from and he wanted the people to do as they 
pleased about themselves. Said he: “If you wish, you can become 
something else, but I will go where I came from. Hereafter, when I 
am turned into something else, if any one does as I have done and 


THE DEEDS OF WETS-THE-BED. I1l3 


carries out my powers as I used to perform in the warrior ceremonies, 
I shall help such persons, and in attacking their foes I shall show myself 
as I did while on the war-path.” Wets-the-Bed turned around and 
spoke to his father-in-law, saying: “Since I have been living among 
your people, you see the fame I have won, my reputation as a great 
warrior, and since then you have appointed me as the head chief of the 
village, and gave me your daughter, for my wife, and gave up your place 
as chief, that I shall not keep. I shall not take your daughter along 
when I leave. I shall, however, beg that I may have the same kind of 
dress that you have.” The chief said he could have it. Wets-the-Bed 
now called himself ‘“Bird-having-War-bonnet-made-of-red-Haired- 
Scalps” (Itschidistariak), the Red-Start. He had received his powers 
from Shooting-Star (Hassedaawa), when a little boy, when the Star 
wanted him to rise as a great war chief and become a head chief. Now 
the leader of the war-party announced himself to the people. He told 
them that while living in their village, in sending out war-parties his 
powers should continue in the village, but he wanted to be something 
else. He promised to the people that should remain that if they did 
the same as he had done he would give them as easy a time to find the 
enemy as he had had. Then he turned into a Swift-Hawk (Gusseios). 

Now the spy made his talk to the people, telling them that he would 
leave his powers to them, and the man who should do as he had done 
would have the same luck as he had had in finding the enemy. He told 
them that he was going where he had come from; that hereafter he 
would be with the buffalo instead of living in the village, so he turned 
into a Buffalo-Crow (Kawitor), or Raven. 

The old chief of the village now told the people that he was going 
to do the same as the others had done and become something else; that 
in the next generation there would be a man called chief and head 
warrior ; that hereafter he would be up in the air, and he was going to 
select the place he wanted for his home; that hereafter he should be 
known as Eagle (Kos). 

The next two chiefs then said the same as the old chief had said, 
and the one that painted with black stripes and white spots said he was 
to be known as Black-Eagle (Kaseya), with a spotted tail. The chief 
that painted the face and legs white made the same talk, and said that 
he was going to change as the others had done; that thereafter he would 
be known as Bald-Eagle (Kaisiskos). 

After the announcements were made the people began to collect 
in groups at the chief’s place. They took a small bowl and filled it 
with water. They poured it on the fire, and when the smoke went up 


II4 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


it sounded like thunder, as the people who had determined to change 
their nature flew up in the air. Those that wished to exist as animals 
went in different directions, some to the timber, some to the prairie, and 
some to the water. All but a few left the place, and they remained as 
human beings. 


15. THE DEEDS OF WETS-THE-BED.* 


There was a village where Wets-the-Bed (Weksidahos) lived with 
his grandparents. Wets-the-Bed was a small boy. His name signifies 
that he urinated in bed at night. They were living near the edge of 
the village. Many people abused them and especially the Coyote 
(Ketox), who would pull the grass out of their lodge and defecate on 
it. Young-Man-Chief (Tonekitsanias) was the only man in the village 
who liked Wets-the-Bed. This chief was a young man, but he was a 
chief of all the chiefs who lived in the village. In this village all the 
chiefs had signs before their homes to show that they were chiefs. The 
sign was the wooly forepart of a buffalo hide, which they hung to the 
outside of the doors of their homes. Wets-the-Bed made his living by 
going around the village where there were ash piles, looking for some- 
thing to eat, such as parched corn. Another thing he did was to eat 
at the mortar where they ground corn. On this account he received 
another name, Corn-Meal-Boy (Weksiwistataa), so that he had two 
names. Everybody hated him, because he was an orphan and dirty, 
and his people were old and poor. | 

The men of the village were in the habit of going out on the war- 
path against their enemies the Tricksters (Kinas). ‘There was a family 
consisting of an old man, his wife, boy, and four girls, living in the east 
part of the village. The boy was never of much account as a warrior. 
He would stay at home while all the other young men went on the war- 
path. His sisters were all beautiful. Once upon a time each of these 
four women went out to the woods to get a load of wood. Before they 
were ready to start back the oldest called to the rest to come where she 
was. They all went, and they asked what she had to say. She_re- 
plied: “Let us all go home and ask father to let us go out with some 
war-party and leave our brother at home; or let us form a war-party 
to take us out, and put some one in the lead, when we get home.” To 
this they all agreed. They hurried back home, and finding the old man 
in bed, asked him to get out of bed and listen to what they had to say. 
The old man got out of bed and asked what they wanted. They told 


*Told by Ahahe (Waco). 


THE DEEDS OF WETS-THE-BED. 1g 


him that they wanted to form a war-party to go out on the war-path 
against the Tricksters, and that they wanted him to show them what 
he used in his time when going on the war-path. The old man took 
down an old war bundle which was done up in an old robe, and un- 
wrapped it. The women saw four more bundles that were tobacco 
pouches, and everything that went with tobacco. These pouches were 
made out of a small animal called Pole-cat (Darkiaha). In the first 
pouch were found soft, white feathers, nearly worn out, for the old 
man had them in the earlier days of his life, and the pouch was nearly 
empty. The next pouch was a little better, because he used it after he 
had used the first one; and the third bundle was much newer than the 
second and first pouches, as also were the feathers and other material 
that were used in going on the war-path. The fourth tobacco bundle 
was the one he used before arriving at old age. After these were shown 
to the women they took the first bundle and asked for directions in per- 
forming the work before going out and before going into battle. The 
old man filled their pipe full of tobacco. This pipe was made of stone. 
After they had their pipe filled up they formed in line and each took 
her robe along and started for the place of Young-Man-Chief. He was 
their choice among the men for a leader. On arriving at his place they 
requested him to stand up. When he stood up, each of the women 
spread her robe, one on top of another, and seated Young-Man-Chief 
upon the pile, putting the pipe in his hand and asking him to take it and 
go ahead and light it. (This was the way the people of those times 
put a man in the lead. They took a pipe full of tobacco and offered it 
to some one to smoke.) So they lighted the pipe and smoked it. 
Young-Man-Chief asked the women what time they wanted to start, 
and they replied, “Within four days.” Corn-Meal-Boy heard about 
these young women putting Young-Man-Chief in the lead to go on 
the war-path. This was the very man who liked him, and he was the 
only friend Corn-Meal-Boy had in the village. So Corn-Meal-Boy 
went home and told what he had heard, and said that he wanted to go 
along when the women should start. The old folks refused to let him 
go, ‘for some one would send him back. Young-Man-Chief was known 
as a great warrior and chief, who always had good luck with war- 
parties. 

Before they made their attack on their enemies some one was always 
seen ‘going in the lead, and this person, whoever he was, had a war- 
bonnet different from any one else. After the battle Young-Man-Chief 
asked his men if there was any one in the party who was always in the 
lead while making the attack. This man in the lead was noticed again 


116 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


and again. The four days finally passed. Before starting out the four 
sisters pledged themselves to be the wives of the one who should first 
see the enemies. This was what made Corn-Meal-Boy want to go. 
After all had started Corn-Meal-Boy followed. They all went a long 
way and camped for a night’s rest. Of course, as was the custom, they 
sent out men to spy. Next morning before they started they looked in 
the direction whence they had come and saw some one coming. He 
appeared very small and as he came nearer, proved to be Corn-Meal- 
Boy. They waited until he came up with them. When he arrived at 
the place, the Coyote abused him and sent him back, then they started 
again, traveling until night, when they all stopped. When Young-Man- 
Chief announced this the Coyote appointed himself to go along with 
his friend, “Nawane.”* This is what the Coyote called all of his friends. 
When they were resting Corn-Meal-Boy passed the war-party, going 
beyond it, in the east direction in which the party was moving. The 
next morning, before daylight, Young-Man-Chief and the Coyote 
started out. They went for some distance, and found Corn-Meal-Boy 
lying down asleep. They went up to him and told him to go right back 
where the others were. They continued their trip a long way, and when 
they looked back they saw Corn-Meal-Boy still coming. They stopped 
again, and the Coyote abused him, and told him to go right back. The 
two started again, but still saw Corn-Meal-Boy following. The Coyote 
grew angry, and turned him over and whipped him. Young-Man- 
Chief thought that he had better take Corn-Meal-Boy along. He got 
the poor boy on his back; for they were going pretty fast. Finally they 
stopped to rest and smoke. Then the chief wanted to turn back, for 
there was no one in sight. The place where they rested was a little 
hill. The boy went to the top, looked over the hill, turned right back, 
and came back stooping, on the run all the way. It attracted the chief’s 
attention. He asked Corn-Meal-Boy what he had seen and the boy 
said he had seen smoke, and suspected some one to be living there. So 
Young-Man-Chief and Corn-Meal-Boy both went, and they saw a great 
village of the Tricksters, their enemies. When they came back the 
Coyote begged Young-Man-Chief to tell the young women that he had 
found the enemies, so he could get the four women for his wives. They 
at once started right back, and traveled pretty fast. They arrived at 
the camp at midnight, wakened the people and told what Young-Man- 
Chief had seen. So everybody came to build a big fire, and they all 
gathered around him and he began his story: “At the beginning of the 





*A special term applied to a friend on a war expedition to whom has been presented a scalp 
by his companion, 


THE DEEDS OF WETS-THE-BED. 117 


journey we were delayed by Corn-Meal-Boy.’’ When the chief would 
say anything the Coyote, expecting the chief to say that he (the Coyote) 
had found the camp of the enemy, would repeat everything the chief 
had said. “We had to wait for Corn-Meal-Boy, and on this account 
stopped a couple of times for a good while; but he finally got on my 
back, and we traveled a little faster. While we were traveling the 
Coyote got a stick, sharpened it, and hit Corn-Meal-Boy on the rump. 
When we had traveled all day we rested on the side of a hill before 
reaching the summit. Corn-Meal-Boy ran on up to the top of the hill 
and saw a smoke and suspected some one to be living there.” At this 
point the Coyote gave up all hope of the chief’s saying that he (the 
Coyote) had found the village of the Tricksters, and stopped repeating 
what the chief had said. “So we went to see what was there. We 
saw some of the enemies’ homes.” Then the women said to one an- 
other: “How do you suppose such a fellow as he could ever find any- 
thing like that; and, although they had pledged themselves as wives to 
the first one who should see the enemy, the three older ones would not 
accept Corn-Meal-Boy for their husband; but the youngest of the four 
said that in order to fulfill her pledge she would take the boy and be his 
wife. So Corn-Meal-Boy was married while on the war-path. When 
they started for the place of the Tricksters the girl took the boy on her 
back and carried him all the way. They arrived there before daylight, 
and early that morning they made their attack. When they had started 
Corn-Meal-Boy was seen going ahead of everybody, getting in the 
village first, and doing the first fighting. When they all turned back 
they had captured many of the Tricksters, taking them as prisoners. 
Young-Man-Chief captured one man on his return, and he called for 
the wife of Corn-Meal-Boy and gave the prisoner to her and her 
husband. 

Then all set out for home. When they had reached the point called 
Place-where-returning-victorious-War-party-halted (Nasaquadowene), 
where the chief usually signaled his returned to the village, on his re- 
turn from the war-path, the people of the village said, “Tesatias ;” 
that is, Young-Man-Chief’s turn. Everybody went home. The girl 
and her new husband went to the girl’s home, taking their prisoner. 
The boy stayed at the girl’s home for a while, until her sisters got 
tired of them. The boy urinated in bed so much that the rest of the 
girls wanted to get rid of him, but the girl stayed with him and moved 
to the place where Corn-Meal-Boy lived. 

It was once the custom for people who saw buffalo to drive them 
near to the village, surround them, and kill them. When this happened, 


118 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


Corn-Meal-Boy asked his grandfather to go to the place where they 
were killing buffalo and get him some tripe; but the old man cried, 
and said that some one might cut his hands. He still wanted his grand- 
father to go, and so he went over to where they were butchering, just 
as a tripe was cut open. So the old man got hold of it, and some one 
cut both of his hands, bored a hole in his cheek, and tied a string 
through it. The boy heard his grandfather coming, and when he ar- 
rived he saw that his grandfather was badly cut. Corn-Meal-Boy 
stepped out to the water, dived in, and came out of the water a fine- 
looking man, and he had on a war-bonnet and carried a club, called 
“short-club” (haksteeneka). He went toward the village, yelling and 
hooting, and going to every place where there were chiefs living, and 
as he came to each chief’s home he used his club to pound on the door, 
‘saying that he had made all the powers for them to become chiefs; 
that he had been abused many times, but had never felt badly over it, 
but the time had come when the had to feel badly over the way his 
grandfather was treated. He went from one place to another, pounding 
on the doors of all the chiefs’ homes; though he did not go where 
Young-Man-Chief lived, for he alone had always treated him well. 
When going through the village, Corn-Meal-Boy heard Young-Man- 
Chief talking, and saying to himself, “That is just what I always 
thought about Corn-Meal-Boy.” After going all through the village 
he went on to where the buffalo were being killed. Everybody saw 
him coming with a club, and they were afraid of him. He spoke to the 
people, saying: “I have given the men powers to become chiefs. If 
it had not been for me they could never have been chiefs. On the war- 
path I would show up before attacking the enemy and give you men an 
easy time.’”’ Corn-Meal-Boy met the Coyote, who called him “friend,” 
as he was accustomed to do with his friends, but he hit the Coyote in 
his ribs with the club, and took his knife and cut the man who had cut 
his grandfather, bored a hole in his cheek, and tied a string through it. 
He then returned to his home. The old folks told him that theirs was 
no place for a fine-looking man such as he to come to—not knowing 
that he was Corn-Meal-Boy. He went in, sat down, held his head down, 
and held his club in his hand. When the people and chiefs found this 
out, one after another of the chiefs came with pipe, expecting him to 
forgive them for what the man had done to his grandfather, but every 
one failed to get him to accept the pipe, and he emptied their pipes right 
in front of him. He wanted his friend, Young-Man-Chief, to come and 
offer him his pipe, which, when he did, he accepted. Then each of the 
chiefs went over to Young-Man-Chief with his-tobacco and asked him 


THE DEEDS OF WETS-THE-BED. I19 


to go over to Corn-Meal-Boy and offer to him their tobacco, for they 
knew he would accept it from Young-Man-Chief. Finally Young- 
Man-Chief accepted the pipe and went over to Corn-Meal-Boy and 
offered him a smoke, asking him to put away ill feelings, which he did, 
and he smoked the pipe. The chief at once called all the people and 
ordered them to build a new home for Corn-Meal-Boy’s people. They 
at once began work on his new home, and when they had finished it 
the old people were taken to it. After they had moved, he and his wife 
both went to the water, and he had his wife get in the water. When 
she came out, her appearance was changed. 

When the sisters heard about this they all went to see her. When 
they saw that Corn-Meal-Boy had changed in appearance they wanted 
their sister to allow him to be their husband, but she refused, because 
they had not wanted him for their ‘husband in the first place. When 
they came around she would force them out. The sisters finally wanted 
Corn-Meal-Boy so badly that they would come to his home at night 
and stand around by his bed, and after they got tired standing they 
would lie down on the side of his bed until morning. Finally the 
women were so desirous of him that they could not eat very well. They 
would sometimes invite Corn-Meal-Boy to come to their home and eat 
with them. So by the time they began to eat, Corn-Meal-Boy’s wife 
would come and ask her man to come out and go home with her. This 
made the sisters want the more to marry him. Corn-Meal-Boy got 
tired of his sisters-in-law and wanted them to let him alone. He, of 
course, then had the power to win the love of any girl. He fooled the 
people by being a little boy and having all kinds of names given him by 
the people. The only time he ever showed up was when they went 
on the war-path, when, on making an attack, he would be seen by the 
people, who now knew who he was; and the chief would ask all the 
men in the party if there was one with them who did the first fighting 
in making an attack. The Coyote would say that it was he, but it was 
thereafter known that it was Corn-Meal-Boy who was always ahead 
of every one in making an attack. 

At the time when his name was Wets-the-Bed, he wore a little, old, 
dirty string around his neck, and had something wrapped up and tied 
. to it. This little thing, after he had proved to be a famous man, he 
showed, and it was his war-bonnet, appearing as it was seen when 
making an attack on the enemy before he ever made his appearance. 
When he appeared a good many of the men came and visited him at 
night, sitting up and talking about the past or telling war stories; and 
he would once in a while visit his friend, Young-Man-Chief, and stay 
there until late in the night. 


120 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


On one occasion they went out on the war-path, headed by Young- 
Man-Chief and Corn-Meal-Boy, the noted warriors. When they left 
their homes they went towards the east, traveling until night, and then 
stopped to rest. They sent out men to spy and see if they could find 
any of their enemies. Some of the men came in at midnight and re- 
ported that they had found the enemy. So they started at once, arriv- 
ing at the enemies’, the Tricksters’, homes, just before daylight. About 
sunrise they attacked them. Again they saw a man in the lead, but this 
time they knew who he was. Every time they made an attack they 
would see him going in the lead, and his war-bonnet shone like fire. 
He, of course, stayed with the party this time. On their return they 
had a good many people whom they had taken captive. They turned 
back to their home and traveled faster than they had done in coming. 
As they returned, the sign was given at the usual place, Place-where- 
returning-victorious-War-party-halted (Nasaquadowene). On their 
arrival they had all kinds of dancing. Corn-Meal-Boy lived with his 
folks a little longer, and then, after he had shown many other super- 
natural powers, he gave powers to men to hand down to other genera- 
tions. He finally left all his people and went up in the sky. He was 
then called “First-seen-by-War-parties” (Hastilaawa). Before he left 
he promised that he would help his people on the war-path if they would 
just think of him, but that he would not appear as he used to, and it 
would be just as if he were there. We, the people of these times, when 
anything happens in that way, still mention this First-seen-by-War- 
party, and expect to see something occur and to have easy times in any- 
thing we may do. 


16. THE THUNDERBIRD-WOMAN.* 


There were three people living together in a grass-lodge, in front 
of the north door of which stood a large cottonwood tree. We know 
that the grass-lodge generally has two doors. The doors of the grass- 
lodge opened north and south. In this lodge lived the Thunderbird- 
Woman (Geleazigits), Little-Big-Belly-Boy (Wekskuniwidiks), and 
the Libertine (Skiwis). The Thunderbird-Woman did all the cooking 
and hauling of wood. Little-Big-Belly-Boy did the water-carrying, and 
the Libertine did all the hunting, for he was a strong man, and had 
many powers. They lived here for a long while, and Little-Big-Belly- 
Boy and the Libertine always had a good time, for the Libertine was 
very strong, and would carry a whole buffalo whenever he killed one. 


*Told by Ahahe (Waco). 


THE THUNDERBIRD-WOMAN. 121 


Once upon a time as the Libertine was going out hunting, a small 
piece of grass fell on his back and he could not get up, for somehow 
or other he could not lift little things. This small grass was a heavy 
load for him, and so he called for Little-Big-Belly-Boy to help him, 
but Lattle-Big-Belly-Boy wished to have some fun with him, and so he 
let the grass stay on his back until he was so tired that he gave out. 
Then Little-Big-Belly-Boy took the grass off his back and he returned 
home instead of going hunting. In order to cure his soreness, the 
Libertine took out a cottonwood tree by the root and stood it on his 
back and got the boy to bring some more wood and place it all around 
the root, and set a fire on it until it got hot. Then he took it off of his 
back, and was pretty well healed. Next morning he went out hunting 
and did not come back until late in the night. On his return, he caught 
a buffalo and brought it to their home alive. Early next morning, when 
Little-Big-Belly-Boy got up and started to go out, he saw a buffalo 
standing at the door, mad as it could be. It drove Little-Big-Belly- 
Boy back into the grass-lodge. In order to tease the boy, the Libertine 
stayed in bed longer than usual, so that the boy could not go out of 
the lodge. The boy kept begging the Libertine to take the buffalo off 
to some other place. He asked him to kill the buffalo, take the hide 
and make a robe out of it for him. The Libertine stepped out and got 
the buffalo by the horns, shook it, and there was the robe for Little- 
Big-Belly-Boy. 

Some time after, Little-Big-Belly-Boy, expecting to get even with 
the Libertine, caught a mouse, tied it by the neck, and put it by the 
door. Next morning, the Libertine got up early to step out, and there 
he saw something outside. He came right back and was afraid of it, 
and asked Little-Big-Belly-Boy to release the mouse, so that he could 
step out, but the boy remained in bed and laughed at the Libertine. 
Finally Little-Big-Belly-Boy got out of bed, and the Libertine asked 
him to do the same as he himself had done and make him a robe out 
of the mouse. So Little-Big-Belly-Boy stepped out, got hold of the 
mouse, shook it, and there was a robe for the Libertine. The next 
night the Libertine got into his bed, but could not put on his mouse 
robe, because it was too heavy for him. He had to get the boy to put 
the robe on for him. Later in the night he could not turn over, for the 
robe was so heavy, and he asked the boy to pull it off. The boy pulled 
off the robe, then the Libertine finally went to sleep. Some time after 
this, Little-Big-Belly-Boy got to feeling sad over something, and went 
without eating for a time, and he would not play the same as he had 
done before, so the Libertine asked him to tell him just what was the 


122 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


matter with him. Little-Big-Belly-Boy replied that it had been re- 
vealed to him that somebody would come and carry him off. The Liber- 
tine stepped out and showed Little-Big-Belly-Boy what he could do, 
taking his arrows and bow and shooting at the tree in front of the 
lodge. The arrow went clear through the tree; but the boy told the 
Libertine that that was not force enough, for this person who was 
coming to carry him off had greater powers than he. The Libertine 
comforted the boy, and told him that he would in some way protect him. 

It happened that while the boy was out playing, he ran in, telling 
the Libertine that his enemy was coming. The Libertine stepped out, 
and saw it coming like a cloud, from the north; it was a large bird, 
called Sun-Buzzard* (Aitskadarwiya). It had wings, tail, and head, 
and small, sharp flint stones all over its body. Its bill was like a sharp 
stone, so that nothing would go through it. The Libertine stepped 
out and the bird lit on the tree and the Libertine with bow and arrows 
shot at it four times, but failed to send any of his arrows through it. 
After the shooting of all of his arrows the furious bird came down, put 
the Libertine on its back and took him in the direction it had come from. 
It went a long way, and the Libertine saw great water at the place 
where they were going to. They finally came to a small island, where 
the Sun-Buzzard had his nest on a high tree, into which it threw the 
Libertine. Then it passed on toward the east to some other place. 
The Libertine saw under the tree many human skulls and bones. This 
showed that the Sun-Buzzard had made a business of carrying off 
people and throwing them into its nest. When the Libertine was 
thrown into the nest the young ones kept picking at him. He at once 
took one of the young ones and asked it whose child it was, and the 
young bird said it was the child of Cold-Weather-followed-by-Blizzard 
(Kitshasiyarni hasanaaxqua), so he threw it down and killed it. He 
took up another and asked it whose child it was, and it answered that 
it was the child of Nice-clear-Weather (Otshasihiniton sakatsasasaca), 
and so he put it down, saying that it was a good child. He took up an- 
other and asked the same question, and the young child replied that 
he was the child of Hard-Rain-followed-by-Hard-Wind (Kitsasaa 
kossasaniwaa), and so the Libertine threw it down and killed it. He 
picked up the last one and asked it whose child it was, and it answered 
that it was the child of Foggy-Day (Hassquawe). This was the 
weather everybody liked, and so he set the young one back again. 
These were the names of the parents of the children: Cold-Weather- 
followed-by-Blizzard, Nice-clear-Weather, Hard-Rain-followed-by- 


*Literally, a Buzzard who dwells in the intense heat in the darkness at the back of the sun. 


THE THUNDERBIRD-WOMAN. 123 


hard-Wind, and Foggy-Day. These were the children of the Sun- 
Buzzard, two of which the Libertine had destroyed. After he had 
done this he came down from the tree. He had nothing but his bow, 
and so he took off his bow-string from the bow, stretched it as long as 
he could and made it long enough to put across the water. After he 
thought it to be long enough he took the string and raised it, swung it, 
brought it down and hit the water with it, and parted the water. When 
the water parted he ran fast through the dry place and got through 
before the water closed upon him. The Libertine went a long way and 
traveled pretty fast in order to get home before the Sun-Buzzard should 
get him again. Nobody knew how long it took him to get home, but 
he finally got there, and told Thunderbird-Woman and Little-Big-Belly- 
Boy what a hard time he had making his escape from the Sun-Buzzard. 

They lived together for a long time, and when the Libertine told 
them that the Sun-Buzzard was coming again to get him they saw it 
coming, and it lit on the same tree as before. The three inmates of the 
lodge all stepped out, the Thunderbird-Woman leading the other two. 
They went toward the mountains near their home, and reaching them, 
the Thunderbird-Woman carried her two companions through them on 
her back. Of course, in going through the rocks they would close up 
behind her and thus make it harder for the Sun-Buzzard to follow. 
Finally they all sat down to rest, and they asked the Libertine to go and 
see if the Sun-Buzzard was still coming. He went and heard it still 
coming, and returned, reporting it to his friends. They all went to 
the place where they had come out, listened and heard it coming rather 
slowly. It came through and fell to one side, and the Libertine killed 
it. Then the three returned to the place where they had lived. When 
the Sun-Buzzard came out of the mountains its bill was broken off, 
and its wings were pretty well broken to pieces. The Libertine told 
his mates that he was afraid that the same thing that had happened to 
him might befall him again; and so he went to the woods, and said 
that he would be seen on the dead wood of the woods thereafter. The 
Libertine was then a Big-red-Water-Worm. (Kaatsiaquatskiwats). 
Thunderbird-Woman went off toward the north, and called herself 
Rain-Woman (Kihitskahhahikia). Little-Big-Belly-Boy went flying 
toward the prairies; he became Dry-Grass-Bird (Nineca, or, Achini- 
kats), a small bird that lives in the grass. 


124 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


17%. HEALTHY-FLINT-STONE-MAN AND WOMAN-HAVING- 
POWERS-IN-THE-WATER.* 


In the story of Healthy-Flint-Stone-Man (Tahadiidakotse), it 
is told that he was a powerful man and lived in a village and was a 
chief of the place. He was not a man of heavy build, but was slim. 
Often when a man is of this type of build he is called ‘““Healthy-Flint- 
Stone-Man,” after the man in the story. Healthy-Flint-Stone-Man 
had parents, but at this time he had no wife. Soon afterwards he 
married, and his wife was the prettiest woman that ever lived in the vil- 
lage. When she married Healthy-Flint-Stone-Man they lived at his 
home. She was liked by his parents, for she was a good worker and 
kind-hearted. As was their custom, the men of the village came at night 
to visit Healthy-Flint-Stone-Man, and his wife did the cooking to feed 
them, so that the liked her all the more, and was kind to her. 

Early in the morning a strange woman by the name of Little-Old- 
Woman (Kahedikits) came to their place and asked the wife to go with 
her to get wood. Out of kindness to Little-Old-Woman she went with 
her, leaving her husband at home. Little-Old-Woman knew where all 
the dry wood was to be found. When they reached the place where she 
thought there was plenty of wood they did not stop. They went on past, 
although there was plenty of good dry wood. The wife began to cut 
wood for the old woman and some for herself. When she had cut 
enough for both she fixed it into two bundles, one for each. Little- 
Old-Woman knelt by her pile and waited for the wife to help her up. 
Little-Old-Woman then helped the wife in the same way, and they 
started toward their home. Tihey talked on the way about their man- 
ner of life at home. Arrived at the village, the old woman went to her 
home. When the wife got home she began to do her work. 

Again, the second time, the old woman came around and asked the 
wife to go with her to fetch wood. They started away together, and 
this time went farther than on the first time to get their wood, though 
they passed much good wood. ‘The wife cut wood for both and 
arranged it in two piles, but this time she herself first knelt by her pile 
and asked the old woman to take hold of her hands and pull her up; 
then the wife helped the old woman with her load. They returned 
home, and on the way the old woman said to the wife, “If you will go 
with me to fetch wood for the fourth time I shall need no more help 
from you.” ‘They again went far beyond where any other women had 
gone to get wood. When they got to the village they parted. The wife 
wondered why the old woman came to her for help. She found the 


*Told by Towakoni Jim (Towakoni), 


HEALTHY-FLINT-STONE-MAN. 125 


men passing the time talking of the past as usual. She kept on doing 
her duty day after day. 

The third time the old woman came for the wife to ask her to help 
her fetch wood, as she was all out of it again. Again they went out, 
and this time they went still further for the wood, and now they were 
getting a long way from the village. The wife cut wood and arranged 
it in two bundles, one for each of them to carry. This time it was the 
old woman’s turn first to be helped up with the wood. They helped 
each other, and on the way home the old woman told the wife that they 
had only once more to go for wood, and the work would all be done. 
She always seemed thankful for the help she received. They reached 
the village and went to their homes. The wife found her men as usual, 
and commenced to do her work. After the men were through eating 
they went home, though some stayed late in the night. 

Finally the old woman came the fourth time to ask the wife to go 
with ther and help her fetch some wood. This time they went about 
twice as far as they had gone the third time from the village. When 
the old woman thought they were far enough they stopped, and the 
wife began cutting wood for both of them. When she had cut enough 
she arranged it in two bundles. Now it was the wife’s turn to be helped 
up with the wood, but the old woman refused to do it as usual and told 
her to go ahead and kneel by the bundle of wood. The wife refused. 
Now, each tried to persuade the other to kneel first against the bundle 
of wood. The old woman finally prevailed, and the wife knelt against 
the wood, and as she put her robe around her neck the old woman 
seemed pleased to help her, but as the old woman was fixing the carrying 
ropes she tightened them, after slipping them around the wife’s neck 
until the wife fell at full length, as though dying. The old woman sat 
down to rest, as she was tired from choking the wife. Soon she got up 
and untied the wife. Now, they were in the thick timber, and there was 
flowing water through it. After the old woman had killed the wife she 
blew into the top of her head and blew the skin from her, hair and all. 
This she did because she envied the wife her good looks, since the 
wife was the best looking woman in the village, and her husband was 
good-looking and well thought of by all the prominent men, and the 
old woman wanted to be treated as well as the wife had been treated. 
Then the old woman began to put on the wife’s skin, but the wife was 
a little smaller than the old woman, though the old woman managed 
to stretch the skin and drew it over her, fitting herself to it. Then she 
smoothed down the skin until it fitted her nicely. She took the wife’s 
body to the flowing water and threw it in, having found a place that 
was never visited by anyone, and that had no trail leading to it. She 


126 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


then went to her pile of wood and took it to her home. She found the 
men visiting the chief. 

The chief did not discover that she was not his wife. The old 
woman knew all about the former wife’s ways, for she had talked much 
with her when they were coming home with the wood, and she had 
asked the wife all sorts of questions about her husband. She under- 
stood how the men carried on at the chief’s place. The wife had told 
the chief that the old woman had said that they were to go for wood 
four different times, and the last time being the fourth time, he sup- 
posed it was all over and his wife had got through with the old woman. 
So, as the old woman was doing his wife’s duty, he thought her to be 
his wife until the time came when the skin began to decay and the hair 
to come off. Still there were big crowds of men around, and the old 
woman began to be fearful lest they would find her out. So she made 
as if she were sick. The chief tried to get a man to doctor her, but she 
refused to be doctored. Finally he hired a servant to doctor her. This 
was the man who always sat right by the entrance, ready to do errands 
or carry announcements to the people. His name was Buffalo-Crow- 
Man (Kawitathakiwaitsa). He had a dark complexion. The old 
woman began to rave at his medicine working. He began to tell who 
the old woman was, saying that there was no need of doctoring her; 
that she was a fraud and an evil spirit; and that she had become the 
wife of the chief through her bad deeds. The old woman told the chief 
not to believe the servant; that he himself was a fraud and was trying 
to get her to do something wrong. The servant then stood at the feet 
of the old woman and began to sing: , 


“Kaw-kaw 

Ka-ko-hi-da-de-he 
Ka-ko-hi-da-de-he 
Ka-ko-hi-da-de-he 
Ka-ko-hi-da-de-he 
Ka-ko-hi-da-de-he 





(Crow calling himself.) 
Crow calling something over there. 


HEALTHY-FLINT-STONE-MAN. Tay 


Then over her body he went and jumped at her head. Then he 
commenced to sing again, first on her left side, then on her right. He 
sang the song four times, and while he was doing this the decayed 
hide came off from her. The servant told the men to take her out and 
take her life for what she had done to the chief’s wife, telling how she 
had fooled the chief. They did as they were told. The servant told 
the men he had suspected the old woman when she had come around to 
get the wife to go after wood with her; that when going after wood 
they always went a long distance, so that no one could observe them, 
but that he had always flown very high over them, so they could not 
see him, and had watched them; that on the fourth time they went for 
wood he hhad seen the old woman choke the wife with the wife’s rope; 
how the old woman had secured the whole skin of the wife and had 
thrown her tbody into the flowing water. He told the men where the 
place was, and directed them there the next day. The men went to 
their homes, feeling very sad for the wicked thing the old woman had 
done. On the next day the chief went as directed, and he came to a 
place where he found a pile of wood that belonged to his former wife. 
He went to the place where he supposed his wife to be. He sat down 
and commenced to weep. There he stayed all night and the next day. 
Ife returned to his home, but he could not forget the occurrence. So he 
went back again and stayed another night and again returned home. 
The chief was full of sorrow. He went back to the place the third 
time, and when he got there he sat down and commenced to weep. 
Again he stayed all night, and early next morning it was foggy and he 
could not see far. While he sat and wept he faced the east, and he was 
on the west side of the flowing waters, so that he also faced the flowing 
water wherein his wife’s body was thrown. He heard some one sing- 
ing, but he was unable to catch the sound so that he could locate the 
place where the sound came from. He finally discovered that it came 
from the flowing water. He went toward the place and listened, and 
indeed it was his wife’s voice, and this is what she sang: 


“Nats-kets-o-ta-ha-nek 
Nats-kets-o-ta-ha-nek 
Te-he-tots-a-ee 

: Te-e-he-tots-hak.”’ 





128 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


This song was sung four different times, but the same words were 
used each time. The meaning of the song is this: 


Woman-having-Powers-in-the-Water, 
Woman-having-Powers-in-the-Water, 
I am the one (you seek), 

I am here in the water. 


As he went near the river he saw in the middle of the water his 
wife standing on the water. She told him to go back home and tell 
his parents to clean their grass-lodge and to purify the room by burn- 
ing sage. She told her husband that he might then return and take 
her home; that-he should tell his parents not to weep when she should 
return, but that they should rejoice at her return to life, and that after 
that he could take her home. So the man started to his home. After 
he arrived he told his mother to clean and purify the lodge; that he 
had found his wife and that he was going back again to get her. He 
told her that neither she nor any of their friends should weep at sight of 
the woman. While his mother was doing this cleaning he went back to 
the river and stayed one more night, and early in the morning he 
heard the woman singing again. He knew that he was to bring his 
wife back to his home. When he heard her sing he went straight to 
her. She came out of the water and he met her. She began to tell her 
husband about her troubles—how she met troubles and how he was 
deceived. ‘That day they went to their home, and Flint-Stone-Man’s 
parents were glad to see his wife back once more. They lived together 
until long afterward. 

After a time Flint-Stone-Man said he was feeling badly for the way 
the old woman had deceived him in making him believe that she was his 
wife. So he said ‘he would become something else. He had some one 
to announce in the village what he was going to do, and to tell them 
to do as they pleased—if they wished to become something else they 
might. After this the Flint-Stone-Man went toward the south. He 
told the people that in time if they should go far enough toward the 
south they would find some flint stone, for he was going in that direc- 
tion. His wife became the Woman-having-Powers-in-the-Water, and 
went into the water. Many of the people in the village became some- 
thing else, such as flint arrows and animals, while some remained as 
human beings. 


THE HAWK AND HIS FOUR DOGS. 129 
18. THE HAWK AND HIS FOUR DOGS.* 


There was once a village, and in this village there was a head 
chief. Near the village there lived a man, his wife, daughter, and son. 
Tihe son had four Dogs; one was white, one black, one reddish color, 
and the other one was copper color. The white Dog was named White- 
Wolf (Wesakakuts) ; the black Dog, Fox (Watayar); the red Dog, 
Panther (Woks) ; the copper-colored Dog, Bear (Wedadadiyakista). 
No one could ever visit the people at this place on account of the dogs, 
though they always kept them tied up. The boy would go hunting, 
killing all kinds of game, such as deer, buffalo, turkey, etc. He told 
his father, mother, and sister that if these dogs ever looked as though 
they were getting uneasy about something that they should untie them, 
for their anxiety would indicate that the boy was in danger. 

One day while going toward the north to hunt, the young man 
met two good-looking women. He noticed that their faces were tattooed 
like the faces of the women of our times. These women wore buffalo 
robes. The young man, being a hunter, killed all sorts of game, 
though all the game he hunted was hated by the women. When these 
women appeared before him they said, “We have come to see you; will 
you not go along with us?” The young man started to go along with 
them. They went toward the north. On their way the women asked 
the young man what he could do to make his escape without being 
killed if he was attacked by the enemy. He answered that he could 
command himself to turn into a small ant. They went on, going fast, 
and the women again asked what he could do to escape from the enemy. 
He said again that he could command himself to turn into a small bird 
and hide in the grass. They continued their journey, going as fast as 
the women could go. After a little while they asked the young man 
if there was anything else that he could do to escape if danger should 
come to him. He told them he had four arrows and a bow, two arrows 
painted black, and two painted red; that he could shoot them. 
They asked him if he could run fast, and he said that he could run 
pretty fast. They asked him what else he could do, and he told them 
that he could not do anything more. They went over a divide, and 
there he saw a great herd of buffalo, and he saw that he was about to 
meet danger. When they were almost up to the buffalo, the women 
became buffalo, and the young man disappeared. The Buffato asked 
the women what the man had said he could do to get out of danger. 
The women told the Buffalo that they must stamp the ground all 
around the place where the young man had disappeared. The Buffalo 


*Told by Towakoni Jim (Towakoni). 


I3C THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


stamped the ground all around the place; but the young man had be- 
come an ant and had crawled away, then he got on his feet and ran for 
his life. The Buffalo ran after him, and when they were nearly up 
with him the young man commanded himself to become a small bird. 
Again the Buffalo asked what they should do, and the woman-Buffalo ~ 
told them that they must tramp over the ground, for the young man 
had turned into a small bird and was running through the grass. 
While the Buffalo were asking these questions the young man crawled 
a long way off and got on his feet and was making a hard run for his 
life. The Buffalo ran after him until they were near him, then they 
saw that he was using one of his arrows. These were powerful arrows, 
and would carry him along with them every time he shot them. First, 
he shot the black arrow and was carried a long way with it until 
he lit on his feet again. He stayed on his feet until the Buffalo were 
nearly up with him, then he used another arrow, which carried him for 
a long way. Then he went on his feet again for a while, until the 
Buffalo nearly caught up with him. Then he used another arrow, and 
in this way he traveled fast and kept ahead of the Buffalo until he 
used his last arrow. Then he climbed up an elm tree and the Buffalo 
gathered all around the tree and hooked it. 

At home the young man’s Dogs grew so restless and nervous that 
the young man’s father cut the ropes from off their necks and they came 
to his rescue. The tree was about to fall when the dogs arrived, and 
just as the tree fell the Dogs came running, one behind the other, first 
the white, then the black, then the reddish-colored Dog. The Dogs 
saved the life of the young man, for they chased the Buffalo a long way 
off out of sight. The young man turned and went home; but he never 
saw his Dogs any more. Arriving at his home, he told the story of his 
narrow escape and how his Dogs chased the herds of Buffalo. After a 
time the young man said to his father, mother, and sister that some 
further accident might happen to him if they stayed in that place any 
longer, and so they left their village and became Swift-Hawks (Gus- 
seids). ‘Their old home was changed into a tree; and the meat they 
had was changed to the bark of a tree. 


19. THE STORY OF CHILD-OF-A-DOG.* 


In these times some of the people lived in a village, and some by 
themselves, as we do now. Among those who lived apart by themselves 
were an old woman and a young girl. The girl was the granddaughter 
of this old woman, and the girl had a small dog that was living with 


*Told by Yellow-Tipi (Towakoni). 


THE STORY OF CHILD-OF-A-DOG. 131 


them. At this place there were no people to be seen, so that the girl did 
not know that other people existed besides them, nor did she know of 
any such being asa man. The girl soon was old enough to go out by 
herself and to go after wood, and her dog accompanied her everywhere 
-she went. When at home the old woman would often talk to her about 
villages that existed out a long distance from them, and also about 
her some time meeting some man when out after wood, who would ask 
her to become his wife. The old woman told her that when she should 
be asked she must not refuse, for it would be a great help to them, and 
not only a help, but that she would some time soon have a young child 
who would either be a boy or a girl. The girl was glad to learn of this, 
and whenever she went out she would wish that she might meet some 
man. Sometimes when the girl was at home she asked many questions 
about these things. 

Once upon a time her dog seemed as though she was pregnant, 
and the girl asked the old woman what was the matter with her dog. 
The old woman told the girl that her dog must have met with some 
other dog. The girl then asked again, “Now when my dog does bring 
a young one what will it be?” ‘The old woman replied that it would 
be a dog like the mother dog, only it might be a male or a female. 
Finally this little dog was unable to go around as she used to, so the 
girl would leave her dog at home when going out for wood. The 
young woman soon afterward went to work and built a small grass- 
lodge for her dog to lie in while in travail. Then when the dog seemed 
about to bring forth her young the girl took her in the grass-lodge 
where she had made a place ready for her. The old woman then for- 
bade the girl to go around where the dog was until after four days. 
She told her that then she could go to see the young one or bring it in 
the lodge that they were living in. The dog kept groaning and groan- 
ing, and finally quieted down. Without the old woman’s consent, and 
in spite of her admonition, the girl peeped into the lodge where the dog 
was, and there she saw a young child instead of puppies. She then 
turned right back and told the old woman that her dog had brought 
forth a child instead of puppies. The old woman asked her if she had 
already gone there where she was forbidden to go. The girl said that 
she had. The old woman would not believe her, but the girl kept 
on telling her that it was a young child. They finally went over there, 
and the old woman saw that it was a young child, and so she picked it 
up and took it to the creek and washed it, while the girl was pre- 
paring a bed for her dog. This bed she made on the west side of the 
lodge. The boy was called Child-of-a-Dog and was brought into their 


132 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


lodge, and the girl had more to do with the young child than her dog 
did. The dog would only have the child to nurse, and at night the girl 
would keep the child and sleep with it. Tihe child grew every day, 
and began to creep, and soon it began to walk. 

The old woman then asked the girl to go out and cut some sticks 
to make some arrows for the young child, and one large enough for 
a bow. So the girl did as she was requested, and she was shown how 
to make the bow and arrows. When these were made they were given 
to the boy. The boy now was able to go around outside and shoot. 
Wherever the boy went the girl would go along. Once upon a time 
while they were out the little boy shot a bird, and the girl was proud 
of the boy for doing this. They went straight to their home, and she 
told her grandmother what the boy had done and how close they were 
when the boy shot the bird. Thereafter, whenever the boy went the girl 
and the dog went along. This was the beginning of his career as a 
hunter. Soon he began to kill larger birds, such as turkeys, and after- 
ward, when he began to grow up to be a young man, he killed deer and 
buffalo. Then the girl and the dog remained at home instead of going 
out hunting with him. 

Once upon a time, in the night, there came two women, who were 
strangers to them. These two women were ugly-looking, and they had 
great sores on their necks. These two women 'were asked why they 
came and they asked each other to answer. Finally one of the women 
said that they came for the purpose of asking to become engaged to 
their son. The young man rejected these two women. As soon as he 
had rejected them they turned around and passed out and went on 
straight to their homes. Soon after this the young man wished that 
he ‘had not rejected the women. He then undertook to follow them, and 
go with them to their homes. He started after them, taking with him 
his bow and arrows. After following them he finally succeeded in 
catching up with them. These two women then turned back and said to 
one another: “Look at our husband coming.” The three went on to- 
gether until they came to a small creek, where they saw a squirrel 
sitting on a tree. One of these two women requested Child-of-a-Dog 
to shoot the squirrel, saying that it was the very thing they liked for 
food. Child-of-a-Dog shot at the squirrel and killed it, but it caught 
on a limb up in the tree, when the two women requested Child-of-a- 
Dog to get it down so that they could cook it while on the way to their 
home. Child-of-a-Dog then climbed up the tree and reached the place 
where the squirrel was, but when he reached for the squirrel his feet 
and hands were stuck fast to the tree. After this had happened to 


THE STORY OF CHILD-OF-A-DOG. 133 


Child-of-a-Dog the two women told him that he should remain up in 
the tree and die. Then these women started off and left him in the 
tree to starve to death. Soon he saw a man who called him “son.” He 
did not know the man, and this was the very first time that he had ever 
heard that he ‘had a father. This man who had called him “son” was 
Thinking-of-a-Place-and-at-once-being-there (Tsikidikikea), or the 
Wind. As soon as he knew that the man was his father he knew that he 
would be taken off from the tree. The Wind told him that he had fol- 
lowed him because he was in ‘bad company, and that he knew that he was 
in danger. The Wind commanded the tree to lie down gently, and when 
he had commanded this the tree slowly came down to the ground andi 
Child-of-a-Dog was taken off from the tree. When he was taken off 
he was requested not to follow the two women again, for they were 
leading him into trouble. Soon after this his father departed, and 
Child-of-a-Dog followed along the trail of the women. This young 
man having power to travel fast by the gift of his father, the Wind, 
finally overtook the two women again. Not knowing what else to do 
with him, the two women took ‘him on to their home. Late that even- 
ing they arrived at their village. Having arrived at their home they told 
the young man that he could have their two other sisters for his wives. 
Tihis made the young man feel sad, after having come a long way and 
then having to marry another two instead of the two women that he had 
followed from his home. These two women called him all kinds of 
names, saying that they would not have a man for a husband that was 
the offspring of a dog. Then he was requested to have the other two 
women for his wives, because the two women were of the same class of 
people to which he belonged. In the place where they lived was also 
living with them their brother. These two women then left him with 
their two other sisters and brother. The brother of these two women 
then began to tell him about these two women, and told him what sort of 
women they were. He said that each of these two women had two 
husbands; and these four men were all brothers; and that the sisters 
had taken him for their husbands to eat, for these four brothers were 
mean, and ate human beings; that when the sisters left their home they 
went to their husbands to tell them of his being there; and that about 
midnight he could see them come around their place eating human 
flesh, for that was what they lived on at all times; and that on the next 
day he should be challenged to run in a big footrace, and that he must 
have great power as a runner to win the race from these four brothers. 
That night Child-of-a-Dog went to bed with these two women. After 
going to bed with the two women he was told that he was going to meet 


134 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


something more dangerous than anything he had ever met before in 
his life. He was told to request aid of them and they would help him 
to come through all his troubles safe. He was told that when choosing 
a starting place they would come to a pole stuck into the ground, and 
that he must say that the place was not far enough for him yet; that 
he should again refuse at the second pole and the third, and that at 
the fourth he should make their starting place; and that that place 
would be further than anyone had ever gone when racing against the 
four brothers. He was also told that at the start, he (his brother-in- 
law) would first race against his four other brothers-in-law. 

From the advice given by these two women he knew that they had 
taken pity on him and were going to help him to survive all his trouble. 
He was given certain things to use whenever the wanted to leave them 
behind. The things that were given him were, a comb, a gourd, clay, 
a cockle burr, a bow-string, a looking-glass, power to command the sun 
to shine, and a soft, white feather. After he had used the first seven 
of these things they would be nearer to the village, but not quite there. 
Then ‘he was to use the white, soft feather, so that he would fall lightly. 
He was also told that before running with one of them he should tell 
the one he was running with to run his best and to hit him once on his 
back, and he was also to tell him to shut his eyes, for he himself, when 
running, had to shut his, in order to run his best; that after running 
the race he would not be seen by the crowd, but upon his arrival there 
would be one more thing for him to accomplish, which was that the 
other two women would try to get him to drink water out of their 
water gourds, and that that was as dangerous as the race against their 
husbands; but he must not drink out of their gourds, for they would 
help him until he should succeed in drinking the water from their own 
gourds; and that after drinking the water he should turn back where 
he had left his opponents and shoot them down; that even then he 
should have enemies who would try to do him harm in order to get even 
with him. This was the instruction and advice given him by these two 
other women who had been given him for his wives during the night. 
It was dark in the lodge, there being no fire, and while they were awake 
these two women came in with their four husbands. After coming, they 
started up a fire and began cooking. It was then long after midnight, 
and Child-of-a-Dog and his two wives were still awake, and saw the 
others eating and saw what sort of looking men the husbands were. 

The next morning Child-of-a-Dog. was called to come to see these 
men whose wives he had tried to obtain. He first went to the creek 
to take his early morning bath. He then went to the place where the 


THE STORY OF CHILD-OF-A-DOG. 135 


race was to be. There were great crowds of people gathered around to 
see them start, and also to see what kind of a looking man Child-of-a- 
Dog was. In this crowd he saw the two women whom he had followed 
from his home, and also his wives. He had already given full instruc- 
tions, and hhad the things that were given to ‘him for his use. He met 
his opponents and started off due north to their starting point. Child- 
of-a-Dog was accompanied by his brother-in-law. When they came to 
the first starting point he refused to start from there, saying it was too 
close to start from. So the oldest of the four brothers said to his other 
brothers: “This is the first time that any one has ever said that. We are 
going to have the hardest race we have ever had.” ‘They started on to 
the next starting place. They had to travel fast in order to get to the 
starting place right. Finally they came to the second pole, and again 
Child-of-a-Dog told them that a man who was considered a racer ought 
not to call that a starting point, for it was yet too close for him. This 
same man, the oldest of the four brothers, again said to his brothers that 
he knew that they for the first time were to have a hard race. They 
again started for the next starting place. They had to travel fast in 
order to have the race at once. Finally they came to the third pole, and 
again Child-of-a-Dog told them that it was too close. The four men 
began to think that there must be something the matter, but they went 
on again, to the fourth place, and asked if it was far enough for him 
to start from. He said to his opponents that it was far enough, and 
there was where the big race was to begin. 

They then started, Child-of-a-Dog’s brother-in-law doing the first 
part of the race against his other brother-in-law. Child-of-a-Dog stayed 
back behind the others, waiting for his brothers-in-law to give out. 
Finally this man gave out and Child-of-a-Dog then asked to try his 
speed with these men. Child-of-a~-Dog began his race against these 
four brothers, and in order to get ahead of them he dropped the comb 
and there was behind him thick burrs of some kind that stuck these 
four brothers on their feet, so it was impossible for them to travel very 
fast. ‘While they were coming slowly, Child-of-a-Dog got far ahead 
of them. Finally the four men passed the place and in order to catch 
up with him they commanded the wind to blow from the south, and it 
howled so that it was impossible for Child-of-a-Dog to travel rapidly. 
These four men passed him and left him behind. Then he took his 
gourd and commanded the wind to get in the gourd. The wind obeyed 
and ceased to blow. Child-of-a-Dog began to gain on them again, and 
after overtaking them he threw the piece of clay in front of them, and 
it made a boggy place for the other men to travel over, and so he again 


136 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


passed them and left them a long way before they got out of the boggy 
place. They began to gain on him again, and when they overtook 
Child-of-a-Dog again they commanded it to snow, and the snow made it 
so cold for ‘him that they passed him again. It was impossible for him 
to travel fast enough to get warm, but the other four men went on as 
if they were traveling on a nice cool day. He finally began to gain 
on them, and overtook them. Then he dropped the cockle burrs, and 
when these men saw the cockle burrs they said to one another: “Let 
us go in those cockle burrs and roll around in them, for that is the 
very thing that we have long been looking for.” The four men went 
into the cockle burrs, and they rolled around and put on their robes, 
while the other man was getting away ahead of them. At this place 
they forgot about the race, but finally they all jumped up, and said 
to one another: “Say, we are having a race, let us go.” So they went 
on, traveling fast, as the other man, Child-of-a-Dog, was away ahead 
of them. It did not take very long for them to overtake him again. 
When overtaking him these men commanded the prettiest birds to come 
around. There were plenty of birds of all kinds, and when Child-of-a- 
Dog saw this flock of birds he at once stopped and began to try to 
kill some of them. At this place he was detained for a while, trying to 
kill some of the pretty birds, and the other men were leaving him a 
long way behind, when he thought of his race, and finally traveled 
on and overtook them again. As he passed them he dropped the bow- 
string and extended one end toward the east and the other west, and 
then he went on and left these other men to get over a deep canyon 
which the bow-string made. The men went around to see if they could 
find a place to get over. Child-of-a-Dog was getting ahead of them, 
and leaving them far behind. Finally they found a way to get over and 
began again to gain on him. They overtook him and when passing 
him they did the same thing to him, leaving a deep canyon behind 
them, so that it was impossible for Child-of-a-Dog to get over. He 
stopped a moment and wondered how he was going to get over. When 
he was in great trouble he called for his father to come around and help 
him to get over. He finally succeeded in getting his father to help 
him. The Wind lay down, and had his son get on his back and then 
he went over the canyon. Child-of-a-Dog began to travel fast again in 
order to catch up with ‘his opponents, and he finally succeeded in over- 
taking them, and when he overtook them he dropped the looking-glass 
behind him and went on. When these men came to this place they 
saw that it had snowed and rained and the ground was very smooth 
and that it was impossible for them to travel. Child-of-a-Dog kept on, 


THE STORY OF CHILD-OF-A-DOG. 137 


the same as the others did whenever they succeeded in stopping him. 
After they had gone over this place they again overtook Child-of-a- 
Dog, and they made him go through the same thing. It commenced to 
snow and rain, and it was impossible for him to travel. The four 
brothers went on and left him behind. Finally he got over this place 
and then again he commenced to gain on them, and soon overtook 
them. When passing them he commanded the sun to shine and make it 
warm. This was done, and it was now so hot that it was impossible 
for these brothers to travel very fast. Finally they passed over this 
heated place where the sun was shining. Then the four men caused the 
sun to shine, and young Child-of-a-Dog, being barefooted, had to stand 
on one foot, then on the other, on account of the heat of the ground. 
Finally he passed the place and told these men that the final test would 
have to come and that he would race them, one at a time. He said that 
when running a race it was his habit to shut his eyes, and that they 
would have to do the same. At this time he used his soft white feather 
which was given him by his wives. When using it he stuck it on the 
back of this head. 

The final race then came off between the oldest of the four brothers 
and the boy. At the beginning of the race Child-of-a-Dog ‘patted the 
oldest on the back and told him to do the best running that he had 
ever done in his life, and told him to shut his eyes and said that he 
would do the same. When Child-of-a-Dog commenced to run the 
waving feather which he had in his head made him light in weight. 
While running he would pat the other man on the shoulder and re- 
quest him to keep on, for he was a little ahead of him all the way. 
Thus this man had to pack Child-of-a-Dog on his back, and so he soon 
gave out entirely and could not go any further. Then the next to the 
oldest brother took his turn in running against this Child-of-a-Dog, 
and he did the same thing to him. So this other man ran as hard as 
he could, and Child-of-a-Dog kept patting him on his shoulder, telling 
him to keep on, for the was right at the side of him and a little ahead 
of him. This man finally gave out and could not go any further, and 
then the third of the four brothers took his turn and again the same 
thing happened to him. He gave out and stopped, nor could he move 
any further. Then the last of the four brothers took his turn to run, 
and this time Child-of-a-Dog told this last one that he would have to 
try his best, for they were near to the village. So, at ithe start, he patted 
this man on the back and requested him to try his best, and then lit 
on his ‘back and began to pat him on the shoulders, and this man, of 
course, had to run this best, while Child-of-a-Dog was riding on his 


138 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


shoulders. Finally this fourth man gave out, and Child-of-a-Dog left 
him to remain there until he should return from the village. 

So Child-of-a-Dog kept on until he was seen, and then he heard the 
yells by the people, who were gilad to see these men lose their race. 
As he approached the crowd he saw his wives coming to meet him, 
and ahead of them were the two women who had brought him from 
his home, and he saw that they had water gourds, and had water in 
these for the winner to drink. His own wives were kept out of the 
way by these two other women, who expected him to drink out of 
their gourds instead of drinking out of his own wives’ gourds. But, 
as he already had been instructed not to drink from them, he refused. 
His wives finally succeeded in giving him a drink, and then he turned 
back where he had left all his opponents. He arrived at the place 
where he had made the first one give out, and commanded that for 
generations they would not be human beings, but Buffalo, and that 
when people should get hungry for meat they would be killed and 
would be shot on the side, under the shoulder. Child-of-a-Dog shot 
the first one, and then the next one, and told him the same thing. Then 
he shot the third one and the fourth one, and told them the same thing. 
again. Then he left them there and went on straight to the village. 

Upon his arrival his wives and the other two women began to 
quarrel over him. They all undertook to haul wood to show this man, 
Child-of-a-Dog, who could do the fastest work. They went off and in 
a few moments the two women who had helped him out of his troubles 
arrived with plenty of wood, while the other two were still away. 
Finally the two others arrived, but the other two had already come in 
with their wood. Then the two defeated women made another challenge 
with the two other women, hoping to make this man, Child-of-a-Dog, 
think that they could do more than the two women who were offered 
to him as wives. They went to bring back water, but while they were 
gone, one of the other two women made a pond on the side of their 
lodge, and did not have to go after any water. When the other two 
came back, they found that the two others were bringing more water 
than they could bring. They sent them from their homes, and told 
them to remain away forever, never to return any more. One of the 
bad women became a Dog, and the other a Hawk, in order that they 
nught have the man to themselves. But he had been requested never to 
have anything to do with them, for they once wanted to do him harm. 
_His two other wives were gone. But his Dog, who had been one of his 
wives, was still in the village, but not living as a human being any more. 
while the other woman, who had turned into a Hawk, had left. 


THE STORY OF CHILD-OF-A-DOG. 139 


Once in a while the Dog would come around and tell Child-of-a- 
Dog not to let people from the village take him over to their home, for 
they were still after him and were planning to do him harm some day. 
So he remained at his former brother-in-law’s. Once upon a time, 
late in the evening, the Dog (who was his former wife), came around 
and told him that he ought to go back home, for his mother had died 
because the never returned home. All the time these people kept after — 
him to come to their homes to pay them a visit, and so one time he 
decided to accept an invitation to go where all the men went to pass 
their time in sitting up at night. He went on where he was invited to 
be present, and when entering the lodge he was requested to pass on 
to the west side of the lodge, where there was a robe spread out for 
him to sit down on, and when he sat down, he fell down into a hole. 
This was the scheme that they had to entrap Child-of-a-Dog. As soon 
as he fell into the hole the news began to spread, and with it a request 
for all people to bring all the hot ashes from their fires, and throw them 
into the pit, where their victim was. So as soon as he heard this, the 
began at once to dig a hole on the side of the wall of the pit, large 
enough for him to get in when they began to pour the hot ashes down. 
He was in a safe place when the people began to pour down the hot 
ashes. They nearly filled the pit with hot ashes and then he heard some 
man announcing to the people to remove their village and go on a 
hunting expedition. So all the people began at once to move away, and 
they ‘left Child-of-a-Dog to die in the pit. There were some people 
who remained outside of the village in the timber, who had some chil- 
dren, who, after several days, decided to go and see if this man was 
still alive. TShese two boys went to the pit wherein this man was thrown 
and asked if he was still alive. Child-of-a-Dog told the boys that he 
was still alive. The boys then returned to their home, and begged their 
parents to come with them to get him out of the pit and save him. 
They started for the place to remove the ashes and to get him out of 
the place. On their arrival they commenced to move away the ashes. 
Finally they succeeded in getting him out of the pit, and found Child- 
of-a-Dog still alive, but badly scorched. After getting out of the pit, 
Child-of-a-Dog went straight to the creek and dived in. After doing 
this, Child-of-a-Dog was just as he always was. Then he went to the 
home of these people who had saved him from destruction. 

On ‘his arrival he at once began to hunt for them in order to do 
them some good in return for the good they had done for him. He 
remained for a while, and then was requested to return home, but in- 
stead of doing this he followed again after the people who had done 


140 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


him harm. After a few days, late one evening, he caught up with 
them. He then began to think what to do with these evil people. After 
dark he stopped outside of the village and whistled four times. ‘When 
he whistled, there came to him tthe Dog, his former wife. He told her 
that he wanted to save her from destruction, for she once did him a 
great favor by getting him out of trouble. He then shot one arrow 
toward the south, and one toward the west, and another toward the 
north, and the last one where they were, and then fire began to come up 
from every direction. After doing this, Child-of-a-Dog requested 
this dog to go somewhere else to live. The dog then told Child-of-a- 
Dog that his mother and the old woman were both dead, and only the 
young woman was still alive, but that she would soon die, for there 
was some one who had found her and made her his wife, and that she 
was in danger, and if he did not get there in time, her man was planning 
to kill her and eat her. So Child-of-a-Dog at once departed from his 
former wife and went straight home. 

When he arrived home he did not find the woman. Then he went 
due east, and there he saw a pond, and on the bank of the pond he saw 
this woman sitting, watching the ducks swimming. Without show- 
ing himself he took one of his arrows and shot at the ducks and struck 
one. While this woman was looking at the ducks she noticed that one 
was struck with an arrow which had belonged to her son, whom she 
had not seen, and so she wept, wishing that he would return once more 
to his home, as she was now living all alone, and as she knew that the 
following was to be the last day of her life. As she turned around, 
looking back towards the west, there she saw the young man who had 
returned. She then wept for joy at seeing him, for she knew that she 
would be saved. She had with her some kind of a pail, in which she 
was cooking acorn soup for her husband. Child-of-a-Dog requested 
,her to accompany him to their home, and while on the way she told 
of her troubles with her husband, and that this man had already told 
her that when returning from hunting, if not having any meat with 
him, that she would be killed and be eaten up. But Child-of-a-Dog 
told her to never mind about that. When they were in the lodge, they 
heard this man’s voice, calling for her to hurry with acorn soup, and 
the woman began to cry, for this man was coming towards the place. 
But Child-of-a-Dog requested the woman to step outside, and then 
come right in again, so that this would cause the man to enter the lodge. 
The man was then talking about the boy, saying that Child-of-a-Dog 
must ibe back, from the way they acted. As he approached the grass- 
lodge the woman walked in the lodge and was followed by the man. 


AT 


THE STORY OF CHILD-OF-A-DOG. I4l 


After he entered, the woman following, there was no way for him to 
get away from them any more. Child-of-a-Dog then took his bow- 
string and with it cast the man down into the ground and commanded 
him always to live in the ground, and sometimes in a pile of dried weeds 
and bushes, and that he should always like acorns for his food, and 
never more to have the same powers he had when living like a human 
being. So this was the end of the woman’s troubles with her husband. 
This man was Wood-Rat-Man (Likishsewatsquetsa). Child-of-a-Dog 
found that the woman had no more meat to eat and at once began to 
hunt, killing all sorts of game for them to live on. 

Long after this, when this woman went after water, she saw six 
deer near her, and immediately she returned to the place and told 
Child-of-a-Dog all about the deer that she had seen and requested him 
to go and kill them. So Child-of-a-Dog followed the deer, trailing 
them, and finally saw them, after he was a long way from home. It 
so happened that these deer stopped a while, giving him time to shoot 
at them. After killing each one of the deer, he thought of cooking some 
meat before returning to his home. For this was always his custom 
before returning home. He started up a fire and commenced to cook 
some meat. 

While cooking the meat he saw two women coming toward him. 
When these two arrived at the place where he was, he noticed that 
one of them was old and the other was much younger. These two 
women requested him to give them something to eat. He was then 
cooking liver, and while he was cooking this, before it was done, the 
older woman called for the liver to be taken out, for it was ready to 
be eaten. So Child-of-a-Dog took the liver from the fire and gave it 
to the women, for them to eat, and he noticed that the older woman 
did not give the other any of the liver, but ate it herself. The older 
woman then requested this man to put some more meat on the fire to 
cook for them, for they were hungry. By the time of doing this the 


- sun went down and it began to get dark, but this woman kept on asking 


him to cook some more meat. The trouble was that this older woman 
would call for the meat before it was done. Finally they ate up one 
whole deer. But the older woman kept asking him to cook on, for they 
were pretty hungry. By about midnight, they had eaten one more 
whole deer. 

Now, the oldest woman said that this young man should be her 
son-in-law, for she found him to be a good hunter, and knew that she 
would be well fed if this young man did the hunting for her. So she 
was going to take him home and ‘et him marry her two girls. So 


142 THE MYTHOLOGY OFTHE WICHITA. 


she kept on asking him to cook some more meat for them. Finally 
they ate up another whole deer, but they did not yet seem satisfied. So 
the older woman said to the young man that she had to go out. When 
she went out the younger woman told the young man that she did not 
eat any meat, but that her sister ate everything for herself, and as for 
her selecting him for a son-in-law, it was a bad thing for him to go 
with her for this purpose, for she had two girls that were very dan- 
gerous, and by means of them she destroyed men’s lives; has puellas 
dentes in vaginis habere, quibus illius membrum virile excisurae essent. 
Just then, after this woman had made known to him how dangerous 
they were, the old woman returned. As soon as she came back she 
again asked for some more meat. But the other woman had already 
told the young man to let the meat cook until it was done before he 
gave it to her, for this woman was preparing to take his life if the 
meat was eaten up before daylight. So the young man did not pay 
any attention to the old woman any more, whenever she called for the 
meat, but waited until it was done before giving them meat. Thus 
again they ate up the whole deer, and there were but two more. This 
young man then took his time cooking the meat after having learned 
what the woman’s object was in trying to hurry him in cooking the 
meat. This was then the fifth whole deer that he began on, and at this 
time he took more time in cooking the meat for these two women. 
Before eating up the meat the daylight came. As soon as daylight 
came the old woman requested this young man, Child-of-a-Dog, to 
go with her to her new home to see his new wives. While on the way 
the other woman told him that on their arrival the old woman would 
request him to bring one whole log to burn; that the wood would burn 
all night, so that she would sleep good. She also told him that she 
would give him instructions, and that the two girls were pretty; that 
the younger was the prettier. So the young man thought to himself 
again of his being in another dangerous place because he thad followed 
the deer, but he thought that he was safe, because the younger woman 
was aiding him. They soon arrived at the home of the old woman and 
there he saw the two young women and was taken to the place where 
they lived. 

On the following day the old woman requested her son-in-law to 
bring for her one dead burnt log for her to keep burning while she was 
asleep. So the young man, Child-of-a-Dog, went to look for the log, 
and he went straight on where the other woman had told him to go. 
He found this woman’s place. He was then given an ear of black 
corn and was told that when he would take this black corn it would 


THE STORY OF CHILD-OF-A-DOG. 143 


turn into a log as soon as he got there, and in carrying it into the lodge 
lie must not go in, but get out of ithe way quick and push it in instead 
of going in. This woman also warned him of the nature of the people 
he was now living with. “Nocte prima,” inquit, “cum lecto recubueris, 
.non tibi cum puellis concumbendum est, quamvis illae id tibi persuadere 
conentur. Dentium in illarum vaginis stridorem audies. Nec autem 
nocte tibi dormiendum est, quod anus saepe veniet ut si quid feceris 
videat. Si cum puellis non concubueris, ab eis quaeret cur id non 
feceris. Vigila igitur; nam si dormies, ad tuam perniciem erit. Anus, 
quae quidem dormire videtur, numquam dormit.” This was the in- 
formation given him by this other woman, for she did not want him 
to be killed, as had been already many other men, for thus were these 
people mean and took many men’s lives through the old woman bring- 
ing them to her girls. . 

After he had received these instructions from this woman he re- 
turned to his wives with the log on his shoulder. Arriving at the place 
he opened the door with one end of the log and pushed it in, and the 
old woman attempted to strike him with a war-club, but she fell outside 
without even touching him, for he had already been warned how to get 
out of the way. The old woman then told Child-of-a-Dog that he had 
pushed the log too hard, and knocked her down, but he knew what 
had happened, after seeing the weapon she had as she fell. Of course, 
there was no danger afterward from this when this was all over. He 
then went into the lodge and placed the log upon the fireplace. It 
was sundown. Deinde anus invenem inter has puellas duas lecto re- 
cumbere inssit. Hoc facto, puellae cum eo concumbere conabantur, sed 
iuvenis nolebat. Is anum stertere audire poterat quasi in somno 
alto esset; sentiebat autem eam tantum se decipere. Saepe per totam 
noctem anus e lecto surgebat, ut si puellae iunvenem iam occidissent 
videret. Sed quandoque veniret is se movebat. Tum iterum anus 
puellas cum eo concumbere inbebat. All this night Child-of-a-Dog 
stayed awake, for he knew that it was dangerous for him to go to sleep. 
Early the next morning he got out of bed and went out, and while he 
was outside he heard the old woman talking to the girls about this 
man and asking them why they did not kill him. 

He stayed all the following day, and about evening again he was 
requested to bring two logs. He went out again and went straight 
to where this other woman lived. On his arrival he was asked how he 
got along with his wives. He told how the girls had acted during the 
night, and that he was this time sent to get two logs. Again cotes duae 
quoque longae duraeque ei dabantur quibus uteretur ubi cum mulieribus 


144 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


concumberet. Praeceptum est, cum puellam quam uxorem vellet 
delegisset, eam innocuam fieri posse si dentes, quae in eius vagina essent, 
cote attereret; alteramque occidi posse si cotem in vaginam penitus 
intruderet; that after killing one of the girls he could escape with the 
other by going straight west, traveling fast to a high hill, where he 
would find a woman who had many children; but that she was slow 
to act, though when she decided, she could save him; but that he would 
have to beg her, and keep on begging her until she helped him out of 
his troubles; that after getting help from this woman she would re- 
quire him to go on home. She also told him that the old woman at 
home would not sleep soon, but that when she did go to sleep she would 
sleep so hard that no one could wake her; and that this would be the 
first time she had ever gone to sleep, for she never slept a wink at night 
nor in the daytime. 

The woman then took the two ears of black corn and put them 
upon the fire and told Child-of-a-Dog that that would make the old 
woman go to sleep and that she would not wake up until he was a long 
way off. Not only this, but he was also given one white, soft feather 
to use over the fire, that the feather might go up in the air, and that 
they would go out with it; and thus their trail would not be discovered 
so soon; and this time in taking the logs, instead of taking them in, 
he was to throw them down outside, but she told him that the old 
woman would try to coax him to take the logs in, but that he should 
tell her that her daughters could take them in just as well. 

Child-of-a-Dog now returned with the two ears of black corn and 
entered the lodge, and the old woman complained about his not bring- 
ing the logs into the lodge. That day soon passed and then darkness 
came and he knew how to act. Finally the two girls brought in the 
logs that were lying outside and put them in the fire to burn all night, 
and then the old woman requested them all to go to bed. They all went 
to bed at the old woman’s request, and while they were lying in the 
bed the old woman would once in a while come around to look at them, 
but the young man wanted her to go to sleep first, for he knew well 
that she would soon go to sleep for the first time in her life. Before 
any of the young people went to sleep, they heard the old woman snor- 
ing, and she was put to sleep by the influence of somebody that made 
her go to sleep. Iuvenis extemplo ad puellam minorem animum ad- 
vertit, quod certior factus est eam crudeliorem quam alternam esse. 
Itaque cotem, sicut ei praeceptum erat, in vaginam intrusit, et brevi 
tempore dentes cotem rodere audivit. Dentibus ipsis autem cito detritis, 
cotem in vagina relictam tam alte intrusit ut digitis prendi non posset. 


THE STORY OF CHILD-OF-A-DOG. 145 


Quocirca puella cito mortua est. Deinde alteram, ut ei praeceptum erat, 
innocuam idoneamque quacum vir concumberet, fecit. 

After having this done, then he told the woman that she would 
be saved, for he did not intend to kill her, as he had chosen sher to be 
his wife for all time. He now said: ‘““We surely must leave this place, 
or else we will be killed.” The young man then requested the girl to 
stand ready by the fire. Then Child-of-a-Dog took out his feather and 
when he ‘had put the feather over the fire, the feather flew up, and they 
were with it when it went up in the air, and as it rose it flew toward 
the west, and they went with it. For a long time the feather flew to- 
ward the west and finally fell to the ground with them, and then they 
had to travel on foot. Still the old woman was sound asleep. 

The other woman who had given power to Child-of-a-Dog now 
deserted her home, for she knew that she would be suspected by the 
old woman of having aided Child-of-a-Dog to overcome the girls and 
escape. She had already told Child-of-a-Dog that the girls were not 
the true daughters of the old woman, but had somewhere been cap- 
tured when young girls, and had been kept in the condition they were 
in. Now, this woman, after she had learned that Child-of-a-Dog and 
his wife had escaped, went to the timber and climbed a tree. She 
jumped from one tree to another in order to cause the old woman to 
lose her trail. She had to do this in order to make her escape from the 
old woman, who had great powers, and who also was an evil-spirited 
woman. 

The young man and the young woman kept on traveling. The 
man was told first to use his powers in order that they might travel 
faster. So Child-of-a-Dog took his arrow and shot it and they traveled 
with the arrow, and when the arrow stopped, they stopped also. But 
we must know that these arrows went a very long way wherever they 
were shot off for traveling. So the young man, having four arrows, 
shot four times, and every time he shot they would accompany the 
arrow. After having shot all the arrows his traveling power was ex- 
hausted, and they could travel fast no more. So now he depended on 
his wife, and at this time they could hear the old woman talking, and 
as far as they were away from her, they could hear her asking for 
them wherever she would meet any one. But some one had aided this 
young couple to get away. Of course, the old woman had power by 
which she could soon find their trail, and then go after them. Thus 
it was that these young people soon heard her talking, saying that she 
had found their trail and that they had no chance to make their escape. 


146 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


So from this time on, the woman had to assist in their flight. 
This woman now used ther double-balls, and when she would throw 
the double-balls, they would be on the balls. ‘This was the way they 
continued to travel while trying to make their escape. But they soon 
again heard the old woman talking, for she was getting nearer all the 
time, and this being the last resort they had, they had to do the best 
they could in order to prevent the old woman from catching up with 
them, but they could hear her talking, and it sounded closer to them 
every time. This woman finally used up all her traveling power, hav- 
ing used the double-balls four times, accompanying the balls when 
pitched. They finally saw the place of their retreat, and at the same time 
they heard the old woman coming nearer and nearer. But they kept 
on traveling, and now they had to go afoot. The girl was frightened 
and began to weep, for she knew what was going to happen to them 
if caught by the old woman. For this old woman was hard to get away 
from. Her name was Little-Spider-Woman (Itsishkaheidikits). 

Little-Spider-Woman now arrived where the woman had helped 
Child-of-a-Dog and his wife, and she requested the woman not to help 
these people again, for she was after them, and she told her that if 
she did not give them up she also would kill her with them. But as 
this woman was quiet and not having much to say at any time, she sat 
there for a long while before she would do anything. This woman was 
named Buzzard-Woman (Awiasquaatskaheka). The Buzzard-Woman 
again thought of helping this couple, and so she went up under the old 
woman before she could move, and flew up in the air with Little- 
Spider-Woman. She then kept flying higher and higher. The people 
waked up and saw them, and they could hear the Little-Spider-Woman 
begging the Buzzard-Woman to let her live, saying that she would give ~ 
her the same kind of powers as she had, but the Buzzard-Woman would 
not listen, but kept going up higher and higher. Finally the people 
could not see them any more, they were up so high, and then they 
heard something falling; it was Little-Spider-Woman weeping, and 
finally they saw her coming down, and she was already dead before 
she fell to the ground. They then again saw the Buzzard-Woman 
coming down again, and when she lit upon the ground she told the 
people to go wherever they desired. So they thanked the Buzzard- 
Woman for helping them out, and they went back to Child-of-a-Dog’s 
home. The woman at Child-of-a-Dog’s home was worried again, as 
she was when Child-of-a-Dog first left, and she thought that for his 
sake the boy had perhaps gone off to some other place, never to re- 
turn any more. But he was near to home, and when he, with his wife, 
arrived, the woman was glad to have him again, and also to see his wife. 


Lae STORY (OF: CHILD-OF-A-DOG:. Lay 


So from this time, Child-of-a-Dog and his wife and the other 
woman lived together, and whenever Child-of-a-Dog would go out hunt- 
ing the women would remain at home. ‘When they were all at home 
the wife of Child-of-a-Dog told of the troubles she had had while she 
was living with Little-Spider-Woman. She told that Little-Spider- 
Woman was not her mother, but had captured her and also the other 
girl. She told that when but a young girl Little-Spider-Woman had 
carried her away from her parents, and that she used to live in the 
woods, where she belonged, her parents being the Striped-Animals 
(Kitiishtadau), Raccoons; and that the other girl who was living with 
them was also captured by this woman when but a young girl, and that 
she lived in the woods; that her parents were the Hump-Backs (Niki- 
dets), Owls. She also said that the woman who had helped them ‘to 
escape was also living in the woods, and that she was a Squirrel-Woman 
(Watsadakaheha). 

So they lived together for a long while, and finally there was born 
a baby boy tothem. The child grew fast. Once upon a time there came 
a woman who wished to take the child home for a while, and when she 
went out with the child, they sank into the ground right by the door 
of their lodge. The parents were at home all this day, for it happened 
that Child-of-a-Dog did not go out to hunt, so he knew what had hap- 
pened, and he saw that this woman had not returned their child. So 
Child-of-a-Dog went off to search for his child all the following day, 
but he returned without finding it. He then called on his wife, saying: 
“My wife, you have great powers. Can you find our child? If you can, 
do so.” His wife’s eyes were all swollen from crying all that day, think- 
ing that some one had been cruel enough to kidnap the child. So the 
child’s mother then said to her husband: “Let us go off toward the 
west.” So they went on wherever this woman wanted to go. Finally 
they saw where this woman had been, and tthen they trailed her, and at 
the end of the trail the woman called to her man, requesting him to take 
one of his arrows and take the feather part in his hand and draw it along 
on the ground, so as to leave a line on the ground. This was done by 
the man, and then they saw down in the ground the woman with the 
child. Child-of-a-Dog went down and got his child and he dragged the 
woman who had kidnaped his child out of the place. Child-of-a-Dog 
then told this woman that she was cruel for kidnaping his child, but 
he would not kill her, but that she would have less powers thereafter, 
and would always live under the ground. So she was cast down in the 
ground, to remain there always. This woman was a Mole (Iskutuke- 
thas). They then took their child back to their home. On their 


148 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


arrival, the other woman was glad to have the child back again. There- 
after, they kept a strict watch over the child at all times. . This other 
woman was more like a mother to the child than its own mother, for 
she was always carrying the child on her back, even more than its own 
mother. 

Once upon a time the child began to cry, and no one knew what the 
child was crying about. The father of the child tried everything he 
could to stop it from crying, but could not, and the other woman tried 
every way she could to stop the child from crying, but it would not 
stop. The child cried all that day. They wondered what was the matter 
with the child. The mother did not pay any attention to the child, but 
depended on the other woman and on her husband to stop the child from 
crying. Finally the man asked his wife to find out what was the matter 
with the child, saying: “You have great powers, and you can predict 
anything that is going to happen.” Finally the mother turned to ‘her 
husband and told him that the child was crying for his father to tell 
them all about his own life—from the beginning of his early days and 
of his manhood days, and what hard times he had been through. Child- 
of-a-Dog then called his boy to come to him, and to stop crying, for he 
was now ready to tell him all about his life, and about all the hard 
times that he had ever been through. The child then stopped crying, 
and sat down on his father’s lap, and the father then commenced to tell 
about his mother’s life and about the other old woman with whom they 
used to live, and of the child also who had long since lived with them ; 
and he told him how he was born and what had made his mother preg- 
nant, and how he was taken away by two women to strange countries, 
and how he met his enemies there, and as to how he was aided by 
another two women, and how he had won the race over four brothers 
who were Buffalo, and how after having done this he was called to a 
feast, and how he was thrown into a pit to die, and also how he was 
saved by some people who had not gone off to the hunting expedition, 
which had been sent out by these people who had thrown him into the 
pit. He then told all about his life among the strange people that had 
done him wrong, and what sort of people these were who had saved 
his life. He told that these people who had saved his life were Quails 
(Kakia), who were living in the timber where the Quails always lived, 
and also how he followed up the crowd of people who went out on this 
expedition, and how he whistled to his former wife in order to save her 
when he got ready to destroy the people who had mistreated him while 
living with them. This was the story he was telling his son, and the 
bov sat on his father’s lap listening to him. So the father continued 





THE OLD-AGE-DOG WHO RESCUED THE CHIEF'S SON. T49 


and told all about his. trouble among strange people, and how he de- 
stroyed all the people who had done him wrong, saving out only one 
person, who was once his wife, who helped him when first he had a 
footrace with the men who were brothers, and how he finally came to 
his old home, and how he found his aunt to be suffering hardships by 
having troubles with her husband when her son Child-of-a-Dog was 
gone from home, and after ‘having arrived at home what trouble he 
also met when first seeing the mother of his baby boy. This was now 
the beginning of the tale of his father’s and mother’s life after becom- 
ing husband and wife, and what troubles they met before he was born. 
This story was mainly all about their trouble with Little-Spider-Woman 
and their escape from her, and of the time of his birth, and this was then 
ending the whole story of his life. 

So after recounting so many troubles, they said to one another: 
“Let us become something else, for we have met so much trouble, and 
we are likely to meet more, and in order to prevent this we must leave 
our old home and be something else.’’ So, as Child-of-a-Dog was the 
son of the Wind, he became the Wind and his boy child also became 
something. Sometimes, when the Wind blows and is blowing slowly, 
it is the child of Child-of-a-Dog, and sometimes, when it blows harder, 
it is Child-of-a~Dog. The mother then became a Raccoon. This is 
why the raccoons know so much, for it is said that raccoons are the 
smartest of living ‘beasts. 

Now the old woman was left at home by herself. She then 
thought that it would not do for her to live by herself and so she took 
a gourd of water and poured it on the fire, and as the smoke went up, 
she went up too, and became Black-EFagle (Kosetskawe). 


20. THE OLD-AGE-DOG WHO RESCUED THE CHIEF’S SON.* 


Young-Man-Chief (Toniketsanias) was a young man belonging to 
a chief’s family; therefore he was considered a fine young man, and 
everybody admired him, because he was a kind-hearted young man; 
but he refused to marry and wanted to be single. The village where 
he lived was built on a wide, open place, with timber quite a good way 
off, on the north, east, south, and west. The people were rather fearful 
of their enemies, the Trickster-Spies (Kinas Kitikeahara), for they 
were troubled by them. In time of wood-hauling the women who hauled 
the wood were accompanied by men with weapons, who were always 


*Told by Ahahe (Waco). 


» 


I50 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


ready for battle with the Tricksters. Once upon a time the women went 
to the woods to haul wood on their backs, and they were accompanied 
by the men. Young-Man-Chief was in the crowd and all the men had 
their weapons along, for they were always ready for their enemies. 
The men folks hunted a little while the women gathered wood. When 
the women returned home Young-Man-Chief remained behind, and 
looking behind, he saw a woman with the wood on her back, ready to 
leave. The woman called Young-Man-Chief to her. Young-Man-Chief 
turned back to see what she wanted. Then the woman got hold of 
him and would not release him, and they were there for a long while, 
and Young-Man-Chief begged the woman to let go. It got to be late 
in the evening, and they were attacked by the Tricksters. They 
retreated toward their homes and fought their way, and finally Young- 
Man-Chief left the woman and she was captured by the Tricksters, and 
she was taken away from her people. 

Young-Man-Chief went back to his home, feeling sorry for the 
captured woman. Arriving home, he was asked why he was still at 
large when everybody had returned home. He told how he and the 
woman had been attacked by the Tricksters, and how she had been 
captured for his sake. Young-Man-Chief regretted the loss of the 
woman, and he wandered about by himself for a long while, until the 
took a notion to go to the enemy’s place to look for the woman. He 
told his mother to make a pair of moccasins for him and one pair for 
the woman, and a robe for her. Then he asked his mother to grind 
enough corn meal to take along, for he was going on a long journey, 
and was going to look for the lost woman; he was going to set out at 
once. When everything he asked for had been made ready he turned 
toward the southwest, where he thought the enemy were living. He, of 
course, took along all his weapons, bow, arrows, and shield. For a long 
while he wandered around, looking for the homes of the Tricksters. 
He finally succeeded in finding their homes; but as it was getting late 
in the evening he made up his mind that he would not go in the main 
village until night. 

The next night he walked into the village and looked in every lodge 
he came to. He finally found one place where there were a great many 
people, and there he saw the woman sitting by a great, big man, whom 
he suspected to be her husband. He thought to himself: “Well, what 
must I do now in order to get her out?” The place was a tipi, and he 
had to look out for himself in order to escape notice; for he knew that 
he would be killed if discovered. He finally went around back of the 
tipi, took one of his arrows and punched a hole in the tipi. He took a 


THE OLD-AGE-DOG WHO RESCUED THE CHIEF'S SON. I51 


long piece of grass and put it through the hole and punched the woman’s 
back. Finally the woman walked out, and he met her. He told her that 
he had made a long trip to look for her, and that her folks were anxious 
for her to return home, and that this was her best chance to make her 
escape and to return home. The woman was rather contrary about it 
and asked him that she might go inside the tipi and get her moccasins 
and robe, but Young-Man-Chief told her that he already had a pair of 
moccasins for her and a robe, too. Still the woman wanted to return 
into the tipi again before leaving, and she promised that she would be 
out again in a little while. When the woman returned into the tipi 
she quietly told her husband, that some one was outside begging her 
to make her escape from him, and this man was the man who had left 
her when she was captured. So the woman sought revenge on Young- 
Man-Chief for leaving her behind and permitting her to be captured. 
The woman at once stepped out, having her husband behind her, and 
walked toward Young-Man-Chief, whom, when she reached him and 
was talking with him, her husband attacked, making a big yell and call- 
ing for help and saying that he had captured some one from another 
place; and being a chief he at once ordered his men to set a big fire. 
The men immediately brought in wood and made a big fire, and be- 
sides this the chief ordered the men to get a long pole and stick it by 
the fire so they might tie the man to it and dance around him while he 
was burning up. When they had built the fire they then stuck up a long 
pole by it and tied’ their victim to it. The people began to come in, and 
at once started a big victory dance. ‘They were in the habit of dancing 
around their victims in their dances. The woman and her husband 
danced around Young-Man-Chief, saying he had once done her wrong 
and they were now going to have their revenge. While the dance was 
going on they scorched him until he was burned to death and the dance 
ended. | 

On the next day the Trickster people moved their homes to another 
place, their custom being to wander; but they left behind an old dog by 
the name of Old-Age-Dog (Waadihasa). The Old-Age-Dog wandered 
around and finally found the place where the body of Young-Man- 
Chief had been left. The Old-Age-Dog thought to himself: ‘Well, I 
might as well save this man that the Trickster people have put to death.” 
So the old dog sat by the body and made a big howl, then stopped and 
looked at the body ; again he howled, looked at the body, and there was 
no sign of its coming to life. The third time he howled and called out: 
“Young-Man-Chief, you have gone to sleep. Too bad! Get up!” 
Then the body began to move around a little. The fourth time the dog 


152 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


howled and called, and Young-Man-Chief arose from the dead, rubbed 
his eyes and said: “I have slept too hard.’”’ When Young-Man-Chief 
looked he saw an old dog sitting by him, and at once he rose on his 
feet, took hold of the dog and kissed him for raising him from the dead. 
Young-Man-Chief was pretty sore from the effect of the fire, and the 
dog insisted that Young-Man-Chief should go with him to the nearest 
stream. They at once started for the water, and when they arrived at 
it they looked for the deepest place, and the dog commanded Young- 
Man-Chief to dive four times. Young-Man-Chief dived four times, 
and when he came out of the water after the fourth time he was all 
healed. After doing all this they at once set out for Young-Man- 
Chief’s home. When he was burned to death his bow and arrows and 
other things he had were taken away from him. When the dog com- 
manded him to dive in the water he had his arrows back again. When 
they were on the way home (and they were on the way about four days, 
in a straight course), Young-Man-Chief hunted for some game to eat. 
He slept with the dog at night until they reached home. 

When they reached home, Young-Man-Chief bade his father call 
all his men to listen to the story of his life while he was away. The 
chief at once called all the men together at his place, and when they 
had come they saw Young-Man-Chief and the Old-Age-Dog, In those 
times it was the custom of the people on the return of some one that 
they had not seen for a while, to hug the person who had been absent; 
so they hugged Young-Man-Chief, and after learning that the dog had 
saved his life they hugged the dog. Young-Man-Chief began to tell 
the story about his life while away. He said that he had wandered a 
long while looking for the homes of the Tricksters, and finally he dis- 
covered them; that he had to wait until darkness came on before he 
could do anything; that when darkness came he walked to the village 
and looked in every tipi seeking the lost woman; that finally he suc- 
ceeded, finding her in the tipi where there were a great many people; 
how he had taken one of his arrows, punched a hole through the tipi, 
and with a long piece of grass through the hole punched the woman’s 
back in order that she might know that some one wanted to see her 
outside ; how he succeeded in getting her out to talk with her; how she 
made a fine talk in order to get back into the tipi; how she went into 
the tipi and brought back her man concealed, that he might attack him; 
how he was attacked by her man, who at once called for help, and 
ordered his men to build a big fire in order to have a big victory dance 
over the victim ; how he was scorched; how the woman abused him by 
punching him with a burning stick; and how his life ended; how when 


THE OLD-AGE-DOG WHO RESCUED THE CHIEF'S SON. 153 


he was dead the Trickster people left the camp and left their dog there; 
how the dog roused him from death; how the dog would be his brother, 
and what times they had while on the way home. 

Young-Man-Chief then told his people that he wanted to send out 
a War-party against the people who had scorched him to death, for the 
Old-Age-Dog on their arrival home had told him to send out a war- 
party against these people. The following night they formed a big 
war-party to go on this expedition, and on the next morning they started 
out. ‘When Young-Man-Chief was telling of his life while among the 
Tricksters, the father of the woman who had been killed was among 
the crowd and heard what Young-Man-Chief had said about his life, 
and about how Young-Man-Chief had been put to death. They set out 
en the journey to look for the Tricksters, and they were on the way 
about six or seven days, and the seventh day they all stopped. Then 
Young-Man-Chief made his offering of smoke and told his men that 
he and his brother, the Old-Age-Dog, would go out spying for the 
Tricksters, for they had already been spying. So they set out at once, 
and the dog dived in the water and came out of the water a young 
dog. They traveled faster, and finally succeeded in finding the camp 
of the Tricksters. The Old-Age-Dog told Young-Man-Chief that he 
would do all the work, for he was himself the chief of dogs. It was 
getting late in the evening. The Old-Age-Dog went on the top of a 
hill and howled as loud as he could, calling for all the dogs around, and 
when the dogs heard this they began to howl too, and they went to the 
old dog. When all the dogs had arrived where the Old-Age-Dog was 
they asked him why he had called them together. The Old-Age-Dog 
told them that the Trickster people were mean to them, and in order to 
make them suffer he wanted them to take away all the Trickster-Spies’ 
weapons, chew off all their bow-strings and carry away all their war- 
clubs, for there was a big war-party that he was with that wanted to 
attack these people. All the dogs returned to the camp to destroy 
everything and carry off everything. Then the Old-Age-Dog returned 
where Young-Man-Chief was and told him what he had done, and they 
at once started back to where the other men were. They arrived at 
their camp about midnight, and the war-party started at once for the 
Trickster-Spies. They traveled all that night, until nearly daylight, 
arrived early the next morning and then made their attack. When 
they made their charge, Young-Man-Chief and Old-Age-Dog kept going 
among the Trickster-Spies and killing them and looking for the woman 
who had put Young-Man-Chief to death. They found her with her 
man. They overtook them and said to them: “You have put Young- 


154 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


Man-Chief to death, and now we are going to put you to death.” The 
dog jumped on the man and Young-Man-Chief killed the woman. Be- 
fore they turned back Young-Man-Chief captured a fine-looking young 
woman, then they turned back from the battlefield with all their men. 
Young-Man-Chief’s men captured many more, and scalped many people. 
So when they all met again Young-Man-Chief told his men that he had 
killed the woman and captured another woman to take her place with 
the father of the woman he had killed. They at once returned victorious 
to their homes. 

According to custom, while a party was out on the war-path, there 
was some one on the watch to see if they were returning, and when the 
watch saw some indications of people returning he made a sign called 
“Degairneayars,” which was the sign that the war-party was returning 
victorious. So the village people knew that the party was coming. 
When the war-party arrived at the village Young-Man-Chief went 
straight to where the father of the woman he had killed lived, and gave 
the Trickster young woman to him, and said that he'had killed his 
daughter and this woman was to be his daughter in her place; and the 
man was satisfied. Of course, when they returned they had all kinds of 
dances over their victory. So, Young-Man-Chief and the Old-Age-Dog 
returned to their home. 

Later on, Young-Man-Chief got married to a young woman. He 
had the habit of sleeping with his dog; so that when he was married 
they all slept together and ate together. The dog once told Young- 
Man-Chief that he was jealous. Later on, Young-Man-Chief sent out 
another war-party, leaving his dog at home in care of his wife. When 
the woman would go to bed the dog would lie down at the foot of her 
bed. It was not very long until they heard that the war-party was re- 
turning, and when it arrived they, of course, carried’ on dances. Though 
Young-Man-Chief left his dog at home the dog had such great powers 
that his master got through everything safely. They passed on until 
Young-Man-Chief took a notion to send out another war-party. He 
went out again, leaving his wife and the dog at home. On the night of 
the day that Young-Man-Chief left some man came to this woman’s bed 
and lying down beside her, asked why she kept the dog at the foot of 
her bed. The dog barked, and the man told the woman to kick the dog 
off from the bed. The woman kicked the dog off from the bed. Early 
the next morning the man left, and when the folks got up the dog was 
lying off the bed; and they wondered why it was. The folks tried to feed 
the dog, but he would not eat. So they asked the woman what she had 
done to the dog, and she said that the dog was cross and got off the bed 


THE OLD-AGE-DOG WHO RESCUED THE CHIEF'S SON. 155 


itself. On the next morning they found the dog outside the grass- 
lodge, and again tried to feed him, but he would not eat. On the next 
night the dog got up again and moved away, and the next morning 
they looked for the dog and found him a good way from their place. 
Again they tried to feed him, but the dog would not eat at all. On 
the next morning the dog moved outside the village. The next morn- 
ing they again looked for the dog and found him outside of the village, 
lying down, and they tried to feed him, but he would not eat. On the 
next night the dog moved agairt, this time to the hill where the war- 
party had always made its appearance when returning. The next morn- 
ing the folks looked for the dog again, and when they had found him, 
tried to feed him, but he would not eat. Here he remained until his 
master came back. When Young-Man-Chief returned with his war- 
party to this place he bade his men go on while he remained behind until 
he found out why his dog had come down so far from home. The men 
folks returned to the village and Young-Man-Chief asked the dog why 
he was there. The Dog replied: “You know that I told you I was 
jealous ; some one came around our wife’s bed, and the woman kicked 
me off.” Young-Man-Chief told the dog he would remain there, and 
whatever the dog wanted to do he would do. On the next morning the 
folks brought food for Young-Man-Chief and the dog to eat, but they 
would not eat. The next day the people brought food again for them, 
but the other food was still there. The folks noticed that the two had 
both sat down, and underneath they were turning to stone. On the 
next day when the folks came back the stone had grown up above their 
legs ; the next day they came around again and the stone had grown up 
below the neck; the next day they were turned into stones. When 
two stones stick up like these the people call them “Young-Man-Chief 
and his dog.” 


21. THE OLD-AGE-DOG WHO RESCUED THE CHIEF’S SON.* 


Chief’s-Son (Niasedia) once lived with his father in a village situ- 
ated in an open place having but little timber, on the east side of a 
stream of water. On the west there was a large piece of timber, and 
in those days the country was pretty wild, and foes frequently attacked 
the people who lived in the village. Whenever the women went after 
wood they were accompanied by the men, who would take along all 
their weapons, that they might at any time be ready for an attack, never 
knowing what would happen. 


*Told by Ignorant-Woman (Man) (Towakoni). 


156 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


Once upon a time, early in the day, when the women went out to 
bring wood, Chief’s-Son and other men went along to accompany them. 
By afternoon, having gathered enough wood, they began to return 
home. It happened that Chief’s-Son went on further than anyone else. 
When he began to return he saw a woman, who, perhaps, had watched 
him and was waiting to go home with him. The woman called him to 
her, for he was a single man, and she thought she might induce him to 
have her for a wife. When Chief’s-Son got to the woman she caught 
hold of him and would not let go. He wanted to go, but she would 
not let him. While she still had hold of Chief’s-Son they were attacked 
by the Trickster-Spies (Kinas-Kitikearaha). Chief’s-Son finally made 
his escape from the young woman and she was captured by the enemy. 
Chief’s-Son having made his escape, went home and told of the woman 
being captured by the enemy. The missing woman belonged to a promi- 
nent family. Chief’s-Son regretted the loss of the woman for his sake, 
nor could he get the affair out of his mind. He was so annoyed by it 
that he resolved to go and look for the woman and bring her home from 
captivity. He told his parents that he wanted to start for the enemy’s 
country in search of the woman whom he had suffered to be captured. 
His mother made for him two pairs of moccasins. For the woman she 
made an extra pair of moccasins and a robe, and she prepared a little 
lunch to take along while out on the trip. Chief’s-Son finally set out on 
his journey to bring the woman back home. The people, knowing that 
the Trickster-Spies were very fierce, thought that he was running a risk. 
For several days Chief’s-Son was on the road, looking for the Trickster- 
Spies’ villages. As the Trickster-Spies were constantly moving from 
place to place he finally succeeded in finding an old trail. This he 
followed for a good while until it appeared to be only several days old. 
Chief’s-Son, of course, traveled faster than the Trickster-Spies, since 
they moved along with their families. Finally he came to a place 
where the trail was only a day old, and he knew that he was about to 
overtake them. He went on, and the next day he had to travel in ob- 
scure places, so as not to be seen, for the Trickster-Spies were always 
on the lookout for their enemies. Later in the day he overtook them. 
ie concealed himself. and after dark entered the village. He went 
from one tipi to another and peeped in every door he came to, looking 
for the woman. He finally came to the largest tipi of all, and peeped in, 
and there he saw the woman on the west side of the tipi. Now, that he 
had found her, he went outside of the village and secured a long stem 
of grass to use in attracting the woman’s attention, for thus it would 
be easy to get her out of the tipi. He returned to the tipi, to the side 


THE OLD-AGE-DOG WHO RESCUED THE CHIEF'S SON. 157 


where the woman sat, bored a hole in it, and putting the grass through 
the hole, punched the woman’s back, and attracted her attention. She 
finally went outside, and there he met her, and said: “My woman, I 
am here looking for you, and your parents are wanting you to come 
home, and now I want you to go home with me without fail.” The 
woman asked if he would permit her to go back into the tipi to get the 
things she needed, but this he refused. They talked for a good while 
about her going back into the tipi. The woman at length gained his 
consent and went back into the tipi, although he had the things she 
needed. Inside the tipi, she told her man that the man from whom she 
had been captured was outside. She told her man that she wanted him 
captured that she might be avenged for his having left her. She went 
out of the tipi with her man, both wrapped in the same robe. She went 
up to the man to talk, and her man jumped out and got hold of him, 
then called for help, calling out that he had seized an enemy trying to 
take away his wife. Then men ran from every direction to assist, and 
the man was overpowered and there was no way to escape. The people 
at once brought wood to burn while they should dance in celebration 
of the capture of an enemy. A long pole was secured. to tie the man to. 
In a little while a fire was made in the middle of the village. They tied 
the victim to the pole and the big dance began. The woman and her 
man came close to the pole and danced around him, and the woman 
would say to him: “You suffered me to be captured. You are a 
coward. I do not like you. I am taking revenge upon you.” After 
the people were through dancing they set fire to the wood around the 
pole and burned him. The great dance was ended by scorching the man 
to death. 

The next morning the Trickster-Spies moved away again and left 
his remains at their old camping ground They also left a dog by the 
name of Old-Age-Dog (Waadihasa). This old dog was so old that he 
was unable to keep up with the camp, so he was left behind. Old-Age- 
Dog went around where the man was burned to death. He found the 
remains of the burned man and raised ‘him up, restoring him to life. 
The man now saw where he had been lying upon the ground. The old 
dog asked him to rise and follow him. Chief’s-Son then roused from 
his death bed, went along with Old-Age-Dog and followed him. They 
finally came to a creek, and Chief’s-Son was told to dive in. He dived, 
and when he came out of the water he appeared the same as when he 
had started from home. Old-Age-Dog jumped in the creek, too, and 
when he came out he was a fine young dog. They turned back toward 
home. While on the way the dog began to tell Chief’s-Son all about 


138 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


how the Trickster-Spies lived, and that he, the Chief’s-Son, could at 
any time go back and search for the woman and kill her instead of 
bringing her home, for he was chief of all the dogs; and how he 
(Chief’s-Son) might send out a war-party against the Trickster- 
Spies ; how they would have no chance to do any fighting, for the reason 
that he could call up all the dogs in the village and could ask them to 
destroy all the bows and arrows and carry off the clubs, so that the 
enemy would have nothing to fight with. This is the talk that the dog 
was giving the Chief’s-Son. He also told Chief’s-Son that, having sent 
out the war-party against the Trickster tribe, and after taking the life 
of the woman and her man, whenever he might want to go on the 
war-path it would not take him long, and having been left at home he 
(the dog) would guide him through all time free from danger. Chief’s- 
Son told the dog that he would have a good home to live in and that 
he would always be treated well for the good he had done him. They 
traveled four long days and arrived at the young man’s home. While 
on the way Chief’s-Son had no difficulty in killing game to eat. The dog 
he had was white, and it was now called White-Dog (Waaikots). 

When Chief’s-Son arrived home his people saw that he had a dog 
with him. Immediately on his arrival Chief’s-Son called all the people 
together at his home. The crier was told to tell all the people of the 
village to assemble at the chief’s place to meet Chief’s-Son and hear 
what he had to tell about his journey among the Trickster-Spies. The 
people assembled at the chief’s place, and the father of the captured 
woman was in the crowd. Chief’s-Son began to tell all about his jour- 
ney; how he was betrayed by the woman; how he had been captured ; 
how she had abused him and danced around him with her man, the 
chief of the Trickster tribe; how he had been burned to death; how on 
the next day he had been restored to life by White-Dog, who was now 
before him; how he had resolved from this time on to call White-Dog 
his brother, and that they should look upon the dog as his own brother ; 
that the dog was now to be the chief’s son; how he was going out in 
search of the Trickster-Spies who had put him to death; that he was 
going to take his life and that of the woman; how he and his brother 
White-Dog were going to send out a war-party against the Trickster- 
Spies, with whom all who wanted to might go. 


Chief’s-Son was asked what time he wanted to start on the ex- ~ 


pedition. He appointed the third day for the start, so that the people 
could have plenty of time to get ready. At the end of two days the 
great war-party was sent out, starting toward the southwest, Chief’s- 
Son being the leader. The party was on the road for about ten days 


THE OLD-AGE-DOG WHO RESCUED THE CHIEF'S SON.|| 159 


before they were able to find any trail of the Trickster-Spies, though 
spies were sent on ahead every day. On the tenth day Chief’s-Son and 
his dog went out alone to scout, leaving all the rest to remain at their 
camping place during their absence. They followed up the trail and at 
about midnight came to the enemy’s village. Chief’s-Son was asked to 
stay behind the dog. As they drew nearer to the village he was asked 
to stop and remain, the dog going on alone. By the place where the 
village was situated was a high hill, and on this hill White-Dog howled 
as dogs always do—not barking, but howling. After he had howled 
this way the dogs in the village all began to howl and they came to 
White-Dog, for he was calling them to him. In a little while all the dogs 
of the Trickster-Spies were assembled. White-Dog now asked all the 
dogs how they were being treated by their masters. All said they had 
not been treated right. White-Dog then told them all to return to their 
village, carry off all the weapons and chew off the bow-strings, saying 
that he had a war-party that was ready to attack the Trickster-Spies, 
and that the party would be there at break of day. The dogs all went 
down the hill howling. White-Dog went back to Chief’s-Son and told 
him that he had arranged everything so that the enemy would have no 
opportunity to do anything. Both now returned to the war-party and 
Chief’s-Son told what had been done. All the men began to move 
toward the enemy’s camp. About daylight they attacked the village, 
and when the enemy, seeing their village attacked, tried to find their 
weapons, they found their bow-strings gnawed in two, so that there 
was nothing left to do but to run for their lives. Chief’s-Son and 
White-Dog went through the village, paying no attention to any one 
until they overtook the captive woman and her man. When they had 
overtaken them Chief’s-Son called to the woman, and said: ‘‘Your life 
is mine. I am going to take your life.” The woman turned back and 
begged not to be harmed, but the dog jumped on her and bit her right on 
her throat and killed ther, and Chief’s-Son went after her man. When 
they had killed the two they went through the rest of the people and 
killed others. Chief’s-Son captured a young woman about the age of 
the woman they had killed to place her in the family from which she 
had been taken, as an adopted daughter for her father, who was in the 
crowd. The war-party began to return home, and soon completed their 
journey. Before they reached the village, according to custom, they set 
fire to the prairie, to show the people at home that they were victorious. 
Having shown the people at home that they were victorious they told 
them how they had made the people suffer. Of course, the father of 
' the girl adopted the captured woman to live with him permanently. 


- 


160 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


When they arrived home the dog turned again into Old-Age-Dog. 
Thereafter, whenever war-parties returned from the war-path, they 
had all kinds of scalp dances, which continued whole nights. 

After a time, Chief’s-Son got married. Hitherto he had slept with 
the dog, but now that he was married the dog had to sleep at the foot 
of his bed. Chief’s-Son forbade his wife to whip the dog, for he thought 
more of it than he did of her, and he said that if she should whip the 
dog she would have to leave the place. 

Time passed, and the dog told Chief’s-Son to go out on the war- 
path, while it would be his duty to stay and watch the woman con- 
stantly. Chief’s-Son went out with a war-party and left the woman in 
care of the dog. Now the dog slept at the foot of the woman’s bed. 
One night after Chief’s-Son had been gone for several days there came 
a man to the woman’s bed. The dog barked to warn the people that 
some one was in the woman’s bed. The man said to the woman: 
“What is the use of your having the dog sleep at the foot of your bed ?” 
He asked the woman to kick the dog off the bed. She complied, and 
the dog went and lay by the door. On the next day the chief’s family 
saw the dog lying by the door. They knew what had happened and 
offered it some food to eat, but it would eat none of the food that was 
offered. Then they talked to the dog and asked what was the matter, 
but the dog would not answer them. They asked the woman what she 
had done to the dog, but she refused to tell what she had done, but said: 
“Perhaps the dog has just become contrary.” The next day the dog lay 
by the door the entire day. The next day the people found the dog a 
long way to the south from his place, and again offered him food to eat, 
and again he refused to eat. He would allow no one to touch him, es- 
pecially the woman who had kicked him off from the bed. The next day 
the dog moved on further south, and this time he was found in the out- 
skirts of the village. The people offered him food and again he refused 
it. Here he remained till night, allowing no one to touch him, then he 
moved toward the south, where there was a high point, where victorious 
warriors always appeared on their way home from war. ‘There he 
awaited the coming of his master. The next morning when the people 
looked for the dog they were unable to find him. But some one from 
the village happened to go around by the high point, and finding the dog 
lying on the ground facing the village, they notified the chief’s people, 
who all went to the dog with food for it to eat, but the dog again re- 
fused to eat. They talked to the dog and begged him to go back with 
them and put away his sad feeling. They began to get uneasy about 
Chief’s-Son on account of the way the dog was acting. They all mis- 


YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF WHO BECAME AN OTTER. 161 


trusted that he had lost his life, but the dog was grieving on account of 
the actions of the master’s wife. Several days elapsed before the return 
of Chief’s-Son, and in the meantime the people took food to the dog, 
which he still refused. When Chief’s-Son returned he was preceded by 
a good many men. When they came to the high point all stopped. 
They found the dog lying there. When Chief’s-Son came to the high 
point the men told him of the presence of the dog, supposing he was 
feeling sad. Chief’s-Son knew at once what was the matter, and sent 
all his men on home, saying that he would remain with the dog and learn 
what was the matter with him. The men all went home and told what 
Chief’s-Son had said. Chief’s-Son then asked the dog what was 
troubling him. Old-Age-Dog then told his master that while he was 
gone, some man had come to the wife’s bed and had asked her why 
she kept the dog at the foot of the bed. The dog said: “I have always 
told you that I was jealous of our wife. A certain man came to our 
wife’s bed, and I, of course, barked at him. For this reason the man 
became angry at me and told our wife to kick me off from the bed, 
which she did. This is why I am grieving.” Chief’s-Son then told 
Old-Age-Dog to lead off; that wherever he wanted to go he would 
follow. Old-Age-Dog then told his master that they would remain 
where they were. Now all the prominent men came from the village 
and asked them to return home. They brought things to eat, but the 
two would eat nothing. They were resolved to cease to exist as human 
beings. The men failed to persuade them to return home. They re- 
mained lying on the ground, facing the village. The people noticed 
that the under side of them was turning to red sandstone, so they left 
them where they were. Thereafter the people visited them every day 
as they gradually turned to red sandstone. Now, when we see two red 
sandstones like these lying together we know that they are the two who 
once turned into red sandstone. Thus did Chief’s-Son and his dog 
leave their home on account of jealousy. The village still exists, noth- 
ing more happened, and all remained human beings. 


22. YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF WHO BECAME AN OTTER.* 


Once upon a time there were two villages, and in each village 
there was a chief who controlled the village. These two chiefs each 
hada child. One of the chiefs had a boy, and the other had a girl. The 
chief having a son lived on the north side, and the chief having a girl 


*Told by Killing-Enemy-Instantly (Towakoni),. 


162 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


lived on the south side of the village. During all the boy’s life,’ the 
people, especially the old folks, would come to see him and would sing 
songs for him. During the singing great crowds would gather around 
the place where the singing was going on. The men were near to the 
singing, while the women stayed a long distance and were not allowed 
close to the singing. ‘This is the way the chief’s son enjoyed his boy- 
hood days. In order to have this continue he had to remain single all 
his life, so there was no chance for women to stay around where the 
young man was and try to become his wife. The older men were the 
ones who were received at his home, for they were the ones who talked 
to him and told him all about things that a young man had to do in days 
to come, and sometimes they told him about wars that some of these 
men had been in. This is the way the young man spent his time. His 
name was Young-Boy-Chief (Waiksedia). 

At the other chief’s place the chief’s daughter was kept at home 
and was watched closely, so that no man ever had a chance to come 
around. She remained single until she became a young woman. Her 
father had company every day. It was the girl’s place to do the cook- 
ing for these men who came to visit her father. There were times at 
night when men came and sat up with her father. During these times 
she had to sit up, too, for her father would call on her to do the cooking 
for the men who came and sat up with him. This is the sort of life 
she led with her parents. At her home she had a high-elevated bed, 
set up on high poles. The place was higher than a man could reach, 
and whenever she wanted to go to bed she had to take a ladder, that was 
made of a tree trunk with notches cut in one side for steps. Young- 
Boy-Chief had the same kind of bed, so that there was no chance for 
young women to get to him. In those times young men and young 
women went around by night after one another. 

Once upon a time Young-Boy-Chief got to thinking about going 
to see the chief’s daughter, but he knew from what several other young 
men had said that she always refused whoever went over to see her, 
and there were times that she would kick one off the bed, and when 
one was kicked off he ‘fell a long way to the ground. One night Young- 
Boy-Chief started to the place where the chief’s daughter lived, with 
the expectation of seeing her that night and, if she should accept him, 
of telling her to keep everything secret, so that their parents might not 
know of their doings. He started for her place after everybody had 
gone to sleep, and on his arrival he called the chief’s daughter, and kept 
calling her until she woke up. She looked down to see who it was. 
Young-Boy-Chief then told her that he was the chief’s son from the 
other village. He asked her if he could come up where she was. The 


YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF WHO BECAME AN OTTER. 163 


chief’s daughter had to study what to do, and finally told him to get 
the ladder and get up where she was. The chief’s son got the ladder, 
leaned it against the bed and went up to bed with her. Toward morn- 
ing the chief’s son left the place, went home and went to bed. He slept 
until morning. From this time on he would go over and visit the chief’s 
daughter at night, and no one knew anything about it, for the chief’s 
son had asked the chief’s daughter not to let any one know of their meet- 
ings. He also told her that, should she become pregnant, he could fur- 
nish her all the materials used for making a baby cradle; that he had 
sticks already cut, ready for making the cradle, and had dyed hair to 
cover the child’s face when the child should go to sleep; a shell for the 
baby’s use in drinking water, to be worn about its neck; an otter skin 
(used to tie the hair), that could be used for wrapping the baby to the 
cradle; a pad (worn around the necks of men and women) for use under 
the child’s feet, to hold up the feet—it was matted and had weaving on’ 
the breast, and the relic was made out of bones. These were the ma- 
terials he promised the chief’s daughter should she become pregnant; 
but it would be some time before he would bring these things. 

At the chief’s son’s home the men still visited him and sang for 
him, for they thought the young man was what we call “wiasucks,” 
a boy who had never had intercourse with women; but Young-Boy- 
Chief was conscious that he was what we call “waitz,” a man, or a 
married man; for he kept visiting the chief’s daughter by night. 
Some time afterward the chief’s daughter told the chief’s son that she 
was pregnant. The chief’s son told her that he would bring some- 
thing she could use for fixing up a cradle for the child. After this 
the chief’s son left the chief’s daughter and did not return. Finally 
the people found their daughter to be pregnant. They then asked her 
to tell to whom the child belonged, but she would not tell, for Young- 
Boy-Chief had told her not to betray him. Young-Boy-Chief re- 
mained at his home after the chief’s daughter had told him she was 
pregnant. At her home her parents tried to find out to whom her 
child belonged, but she refused to tell. Long afterward, the child was 
born, and the chief’s daughter waited for her man to come back to her 
and bring with him the things that he had promised to bring when he 
should hear of the child’s birth. She waited patiently for this young 
man to do what he had agreed to do. 

At the village the men continued singing for the young man. 
Whenever they sang for him the men formed in a circle; a man was 
placed in the center and the chief’s son was placed on his lap while the 
rest of the men did the singing. When the singing was over the men 
would let the boy go. By so doing the men would get plenty of things 


104 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


to eat that the chief gave them, and then there would be something pre- 
sented to them for singing to Young-Boy-Chief. At the chief’s daugh- 
ter’s home, after her child was born, her parents asked her many times 
to tell them to whom the child belonged. They told her that some one 
ought to come and see the child, if her husband was not living with 
her. As she refused every man who came to her, now that she had 
brought the child in this way, the child having no father, they told 
her that she must either leave the place or tell whose was the child. 
Still she would not tell. She still had hope that her man would come 
back to her some night with the promised things for the child. Every 
day her parents kept asking her about this. She got very tired of wait- 
ing, and determined that the very next time she heard about the men 
singing for the chief’s son she would go and take the child to him and 
make the people think that he was the father. The next time she 
heard about the men singing for Young-Boy-Chief she started for his 
place. On her arrival there she saw large crowds of women on the 
edge of the crowd of men, and she saw that no woman could get near 
to where the singing was going on. She went through the crowd of 
women and was told not to go further, for the women were not allowed 
there, especially those having children. But still she kept going, until 
she came where the young man was; then she placed the child in the 
young man’s arms and turned back by the way she had come, before 
the singing was over. The men, having found out that Young-Boy- 
Chief had a child by the strange woman, stopped singing. The child 
was left with Young-Boy-Chief. When the chief’s daughter started 
off, the chief’s son got up with the child in his arms and followed her. 
He thought that perhaps she would stop at her home, but he saw her 
pass her home; he followed her. Then the folks saw to whom the 
child belonged and followed the chief’s son. 

The chief’s son thought that the chief’s daughter would soon look 
back and stop to see her people, but she kept on going and did not look 
back. After they had gone a long way the child began to cry. The 
chief’s son then called to the chief’s daughter to stop and let the child 
nurse, saying that if she stopped he would live with her and the child. 
But she would not stop, and the child kept crying. Finally the chief’s 
son began to cry, for it made him feel badly to hear the child cry and to 
see his mother leaving them. She kept going until Young-Boy-Chief 
saw a large lake. The chief’s daughter was headed for it, and he began 
to think that after she should come to the lake perhaps she would stop 
for them, and that perhaps she wanted to take a bath before she should 
turn back to speak to him. Then he stopped crying, but the child did 
not. Finally the chief’s daughter reached the edge of the water, took 


YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF WHO -BECAME AN OTTER. 165 


off her clothing and left it. Then Young-Boy-Chief saw her flying 
over the lake, and they could hear her whistling like an eagle. 

The chief’s daughter had turned into an Eagle, and on their arrival 
at the water where the clothing was Young-Boy-Chief found that the 
garments had turned into grapevines. Here he stopped with the child 
and expected his wife to come back. Both cried again, but still he 
could see nothing of his wife. While all alone they both went to sleep 
for a while, and while they were sleeping the woman came back with 
another man whom she had already married, and they were both 
Eagles. While Young-Boy-Chief was sleeping the Eagles took the 
child away from him. He then awoke, but did not find his child. 
Young-Boy-Chief looked around for the child, but could not find him. 
He finally looked up, and there they were, three of them, flying over 
him. They kept sailing around over him, and finally the woman Eagle 
began to sing to him, saying: 

“Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka 
Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka 
Hos-ta-kes-o-ti-na-sé 
Wa-ka-na-kuk. 
“Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka 
Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka 
Ja-di-yak-o-ta-nas-é 
Wa-ka-sats-ka-dats. 
“Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka 
Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka 
Ki-tish-o-ti-lak 
Wa-ka-ka-ti-6s. 


“Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka 
Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka 
Ki-ki-a-di-kits-a-ho-ti-das 
Wa_-ka-as-sa-ki-ats 
Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka 
Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka.” 


























[After a pause the same tune is sung in a lower key, and apparently to different words, as 
most of the sixteenth notes disappear. | 


160 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


You have said there were dogwood sticks ready cut for use in 
making a cradle for the child. 


You have said there was dyed hair to cover over the head, and 
beading for the cradle. 


You have said there was a tanned otter skin for use to wrap 
the child on the cradle. 


You have said there were long bone beads to put under the feet, 
to hold the feet of the child. 


Then, before leaving him, she sang to him this song: 


“T-ti-sesh-1-heé-he 
I-ti-sesh-i-heé-he 
Ne-ti-kit-i-hé 
I-ti-sesh-i-heé-he. 
“Tt-sezh-e-hé-he 
It-sezh-e-hé-he 
Hi-da-zesh-si-a-wé 
It-sezh-e-hé-he. 
“Tt-sezh-e-hé-he 
It-sezh-e-hé-he 
Hi-da-zesh-si-a-wé 
It-sezh-e-hé-he.” 

Let me give a feather to my husband! 

Give a feather to your wife’s first husband! 

Give a feather to your father! 


Each time she sang this song there would come down a feather, 
and it would land on the ground. Each of the three Eagles gave three 
feathers to the young man, then they left him and went off, flying 
towards the east. Young-Boy-Chief took the feathers and went on 
home. When he arrived home he found everybody had left the village, 
and no trail of them was to be seen. Then he went to a river and turned 
into an Otter (Kitish). Before Young-Boy-Chief turned into an Otter 
he took the feathers and pitched them into some brush that arrows are 
made of, commanding that the feathers be used in the next generation, 
together with the brush that the arrows are made of. So this is the way 
Young-Boy-Chief was treated for not fulfilling his promise to his wife 
after she was pregnant, and this is the way the story of Young-Boy- 
Chief ends. 


YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF WHO BECAME AN OTTER. 167 
23. YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF WHO BECAME AN OTTER.* 


Once upon a time there was a village which had two chiefs. The 
village was divided into two parts by a wide, street-like space which 
extended east and west. On the north side of the division was a man 
named Young-Boy-Chief (Niasedia), who was the son of the chief of 
that part of the village. Sometimes great crowds of people assembled 
at this chief’s place, and the prominent men would sing for Young-Boy- 
Chief, who was considered as “wiasucks’’ (a boy who had never had 
intercourse with women), a name given to young men who have no 
thought of marrying. While the singing was going on only the men 
were allowed close to the singers, while just beyond them were the 
women of the village. This song ceremony was always carried on for 
Young-Boy-Chief. Now, there were several women who thought that 
Young-Boy-Chief was old enough to marry. They went by night to 
see him, but he rejected them, for he had no thought of ever living with 
a woman. His parents often talked to him regarding marriage, but he 
would not listen to them and continued with his boyish acts and had no 
thought of women. The chief of the south village had a daughter, 
whose ways were similar to those of Young-Boy-Chief. She had no 
thought of men. A great many of the young men of the village desired 
her for a wife, but she rejected them. She was not in the habit of 
going around like other women, but always stayed close at home. Only 
a very few people knew her, it being the custom for the chiefs to have 
company every night. The chief’s daughter did most of the cooking 
for the visitors. 

Once upon a time Young-Boy-Chief thought of the chief’s daugh- 
ter, who, at the same time, thought of him, each wondering how the 
other appeared. On a certain night each thought of going to see the 
other, but neither. knew what the other was thinking about. Young- 
Boy-Chief got up from his bed at midnight and went straight toward 
the south village. At the same time, the chief’s daughter got out of 
her bed and went toward the north village to see Young-Boy-Chief. 
Neither knew that the other was on the way. As they approached the 
dividing line between the two villages they saw each other. Young- 
Boy-Chief asked the chief’s daughter where she was going. She re- 
plied: “I am going to see Young-Boy-Chief.” The woman, seeing 
certainly that this was the man, asked where he was going, and he 
replied that he was going to see the chief’s daughter who was living at 
the south village. Then said Young-Boy-Chief: “I am that same 


*Told by Kadas (Wichita), 


168 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


Young-Boy-Chief,” and the woman said, “I am the chief’s daughter.” 
They came closer to one another and commenced to talk about whether 
they should go to his or her home. Finally they decided to go off in 
the distance, where they could live permanently by themselves. Young- 
Boy-Chief said he would go back to his home and get what things he 
needed, and he told the chief's daughter to do the same and to meet 
him again where they were. They departed to their homes to get what 
they needed, so as to be ready to leave the village. After a short time 
both returned. They started toward the south and traveled that night 
until nearly daylight, when they went to sleep for a while, and the 
next morning they started out again, traveling fast, for they knew that 
some one would be after her, and in order to get her clear out of sight 
they would have to travel fast. ‘They traveled the whole day and 
stopped when it was dark. Two more days they traveled before finding 
a good place to live. At the end of the fourth day they found a place 
which just suited them. The woman commenced to fix up the place, 
making a grass-lodge, while the man hunted. Finally they had their 
home prepared. 

The parents of the woman sent out men to look for her, but they 
failed to find her. Sometimes Young-Boy-Chief would say: ‘‘When- 
ever we get a child I will go home and get what things we need for a 
cradle. I have dogwood sticks ready for making the cradle, and I have 
an otter skin for wrapping around the child’s cradle. I have some hair 
to cover the child’s eyes while in the cradle. I have a small pipe bone, 
to be used under the child’s heels when in the cradle. I also have an- 
other thing, a round, flat shell with two holes in the rim, that the child 
can have for a cup to drink out of.’ Long afterwards the woman be- 
came pregnant. A boy was born to them, of which they, of course, 
were very proud. Young-Boy-Chief would go out hunting while his 
woman and the boy remained at home. This is the way they lived. 
Some time afterward the young man thought of his home. He began 
to think about leaving his wife and child. One time when he was out 
hunting he took the trail to his old home. He left his wife and child 
far behind him. It took him but a short time to reach home. His 
parents were glad to see him, but he did not say anything about being 
married to the chief’s daughter, nor about leaving her and the child far 
away from the village. He remained at home, and his wife wondered 
why he did not return. Young-Boy-Chief had now resumed his former 
life as if unmarried. Men came to sing for him while he was seated 
on the lap of one of the men. Still they thought him a young man 
without wife or child. 


YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF WHO BECAME AN OTTER. 169 


After several days had elapsed the chief’s daughter got tired of 
living alone, far from the village. So she took her child and packed him 
on her back, determined to return to her home and see her husband. 
She started for home, and in four days she arrived at the village and 
went straight on to the home of Young-Boy-Chief. It was the very 
day that men had come to his home to sing for him, and an immense 
crowd of people were gathered at his home. On her arrival she went 
straight toward the place where he was seated on the lap of the main, 
man, who was singing for him. The people tried to coax her not to go 
there, for women were not allowed where the singing was going on. 
But she went through the crowds, going direct to her husband. She 
took her child off from her back and put it on the lap of Young-Boy- 
Chief, walked back, and turned northward instead of going to her home. 
The men who were singing were surprised at the young man. Crowds 
of people began to move away, for they had learned that Young-Boy- 
Chief probably had a wife and child. Young-Boy-Chief took his child 
and followed his wife. As soon as they got outside of the village he 
called to her to stop, so that he might plan what was the best to be 
done. But the woman would pay no attention to him. She kept on 
going north. The child commenced to cry, so Young-Boy-Chief again 
called to ‘this wife to stop, but she would not stop. As they went further 
the man and the child both began to cry. Otter-Man was feeling sad 
over the crying of the child. After they had gone a little way further 
the woman commenced to talk to Young-Boy-Chief, telling him that he 
had treated them meanly by leaving them so far from the village. 
Young-Boy-Chief then called to her to stop, and said: “T will stay with 
you hereafter if you will stop, and we will stay at home,” but the 
woman would not stop, so they kept on going. The child kept on crying 
and Young-Boy-Chief cried, too, for it made him feel sorry that the child 
should cry and that the woman would not stop when he told her to 
stop. They kept on going north. The man then began to think that, 
perhaps, after a while she might stop. But the woman commenced to 
sing to him about the things he had promised for the child’s use in the 
cradle: 

“Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka 
Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka 
Hos-ta-kes-o-ti-na-sé 
Wa-ka-na-kuk. 
“Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka 
Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka 
Ja-di-yak-o-ta-nas-é 
Wa-ka-sats-ka-dats. 


170 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


“Kat-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka 
Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka 
Ki-tish-o-ti-lak 
Wa-ka-ka-ti-6ds. 
“Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka 
Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka 
Ki-ki-a-di-kits-a-ho-ti-das 
Wa-ka-as-sa-ki-ats 
Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka 
Kit-e-he-ki-as-si-a-ka.” 


You have said there were dogwood sticks ready cut for use in 
making a cradle for the child. 


You have said there was dyed hair to cover over the head, and 
beading for the cradle. 


You have said there was a tanned otter skin for use to wrap 
the child on the cradle. 


You have said there were long bone beads to put under the feet, 
to hold the feet of the child. 


As the woman sang this song to the man, he would say: “Yes, I 
made those promises; and I have all of them ready, and if you will just 
stop a moment and let me tell you more, and if you will go back to my 
home, our child shall have all of those things.” But the woman kept on 
going, while she was singing this song to him. When she was through 
singing they came in sight of a large body of water. Young-Boy-Chief 
thought that might be where they were going, and that perhaps his 
wife would stop and talk to him. So he did not speak to her any more 
about stopping. She was a long way ahead of him. When she reached 
the water she took off her robe, and away she went, flying over the 
lake, and she turned into an Eagle (Kos). When Young-Boy-Chief 
got to the place where the woman had left her robe there was no longer 
a robe, but a wild grapevine. Young-Boy-Chief sat down on the bank 
and the child commenced to cry, and he also cried, because the woman 
had left them. Finally Young-Boy-Chief saw two Eagles flying over 
him. The woman, having turned into an Eagle, had already married 
some one who was also an Eagle. The two Eagles flew around over 
‘them, and it happened that Young-Boy-Chief felt sleepy and went to 
sleep. Suddenly the Eagle woman came down and took the child away 
from him. This awakened him. There were three Eagles now flying 
around over him, the young one being with them this time. Young- 
Boy-Chief now cried to be taken up as the child had been taken up, but 
the woman began to sing again: 


YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF WHO BECAME AN OTTER. Vat 


“T-ti-sesh-i-heé-he 
I-ti-sesh-i-heé-he 
Ne-ti-kit-i-hé 
I-ti-sesh-i-heé-he. 
“Tt-sezh-e-hé-he 
It-sezh-e-hé-he 
Hi-da-zesh-si-a-wé 
It-sezh-e-he-he. 
“Tt-sezh-e-hé-he 
It-sezh-e-hé-he 
Hi-da-zesh-si-a-wé 
It-sezh-e-hé-he.”’ 

Let me give a feather to my husband! 

Give a feather to your wife’s first husband! 

Give a feather to your father! 


Suddenly the Eagle woman shook herself, and there came down 
one feather, and the feather landed by Young-Boy-Chief’s side and he 
picked it up and kept it. Again the Eagle woman sang, telling her 
Eagle man to give a feather to Young-Boy-Chief. He shook himself, 
and there came down another feather to Young-Boy-Chief. Again the 
Eagle woman sang, telling her young one to give its father a feather. 
The young one shook itself and there came down another feather to 
Young-Boy-Chief. Now the Eagles commenced to fly away from 
Young-Boy-Chief, and when he saw that they were leaving him he went 
back toward his home, still having the feathers. 

Arriving at his home, Young-Boy-Chief found that everybody had 
moved away, and where the village had been there was nothing but 
tall weeds, which showed that the people had long since moved away 
to another place. Young-Boy-Chief stood around the place where he 
used to live, turned to each direction and wondered which way the 
people had gone. He concluded he would not follow the people, as he 
thought it would take so many days that it would be too much trouble 
to catch up with them. So he went south, and there was a river that he 
wanted to reach, and on whose banks there were large dogwood bushes. 
When he came to the place he pitched his feathers into the bushes and 
commanded that in generations to come, feathers should be used for 
feathering arrows, and this is the reason why people of the present time 
use feathers on their arrows. After Young-Boy-Chief had done this 
he went to the river and turned into an Otter (Kitish). So the young 
man became an Otter, while his wife belonged to the fowls of the air. 


172 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 
24. THE MAN WHO BECAME A FLAMINGO.* 


Once upon a time there was a village, and in this village lived a 
chief who had five daughters. This village was situated by a river, and 
the people in the village carried their water from this river, and bathed 
there daily, morning and evening. The five daughters of the chief were 
all single, and always refused to marry. In this village also lived Man- 
having-greater-Powers-than-any-other-Man (Waitsaidiawaha). He 
lived on the edge of the village. Once upon a time Man-having-greater- 
Powers-than-any-other-Man thought he would play a trick on the 
oldest of the five sisters, the daughters of the chief. ‘These women 
had a certain time to go to the river to bring water or to take a bath. 
One day Man-having-greater-Powers-than-any-other-Man found the 
trail of the women and put a small bone cylinder or pipe-bone, about 
two inches long, that is used for wearing around the neck, on the path 
for one of the women to pick up. It happened that the oldest of the five 
sisters found the relic on her way, and picked it up and put it in front 
of her under her blanket. After she had done this she did not think of 
it any more until she reached home, then she began to feel around to 
see if she could find the relic that she had picked up. She knew that it 
was pretty, and she wanted her sisters to see what she had found, but 
she failed to find it. After a time she became pregnant, but she did 
not know how she became pregnant. Everybody found out her con- 
dition, and people wondered. This worried the young woman, for she 
knew for certain that she had never been with any man. Her father 
asked her to whom the child belonged, ‘but she said that she did not 
know. The child was born, and was a boy. The child began to grow 
rapidly. When he was old enough to creep, he began to cry, and cried 
all the day long. The chief ordered the men to make arrows and bows, 
and to come around about the chief’s place and present their bows and 
arrows to the child. The chief said that whoever had his arrows ac- 
cepted by the child was to become husband of the mother of the child. 
He told the men that when offering the bows and arrows to the child, 
they must say to it: “Son, come and accept my arrows and bow, for 
I have brought these for you.”’ When all had their bows and arrows 
made they made known to the chief that they were ready. Then the 
chief called all the men into his lodge. There were large crowds of 
men, and in the crowd was the same man who put the relic on the trail 
for this young woman to find. When everybody was in the chief’s 
lodge they began to pass around the child, and the men offered their 


*Told by Towakoni Jim (Towakoni). 


THE MAN WHO BECAME A FLAMINGO. 173 


bows and arrows to the child, but he kept on crying. In the crowd 
of men was the Coyote (Ketox), who wished his turn would come, 
for he knew that he could stop the child from crying. ‘The child was 
handed to every man, and was offered bows and arrows, and each man 
would call the boy “son.” Finally, the Coyote’s turn came, and he 
knew that when he could stop the child from crying he would become 
the chief’s son-in-law. When the child was handed to the Coyote he 
called the child “son,” and told him to come to him and get his arrows. 
He made all kinds of talk to the child, telling him that he had long 
been wanting to take him, and that he was his father. Just then the 
child stopped crying and played around for a while, and this made 
the old Coyote happy, for he would become the chief’s son-in-law. 
The Coyote wanted to get rid of the crowd of men. He ‘wished that 
every one would pass out, for now that he had stopped the child from 
crying there was nothing else that these men could do. Soon the 
child began to cry again. So he had to be passed on, and this made the 
Coyote mad, because the men had waited too long in passing out. The 
child was finally handed to Man-having-greater-Powers-than-any- 
other-Man. When the man’s turn came he called the child “son,” and 
told him to come to him, and he called the child’s name, ‘which was 
Child-sprung-from-Pipe-Bone (Kiadiya), the relic that he had put on 
a trail for the women to find, and he presented his bows and arrows to 
the child, and took him on ‘his arm, wiped the child’s tears, and said: 
“My son, I have long been wishing to take you, but your mother does 
not know how she came to have you.” Just then the woman thought 
of the relic that she had found while she was going to the river for 
water. So Child-sprung-from-Pipe-Bone forgot all about crying, but 
commenced to play around with the bows and arrows that were pre- 
sented to him by his father, Man-having-greater-Powers-than-any- 
other-Man. The Coyote was angry at this man, because he was the 
first man who stopped the child from crying. He called this man all 
the names he could think of—“Long-Neck,” “Long-Legs,” and “Long- 
Nose.” So this Man-having-greater-Powers-than-any-other-Man_ be- 
came at once the chief’s son-in-law, instead of Coyote. 

The chief then announced to the men that he was satisfied that his 
grandchild had found his father, and that he wanted every one to pass 
out except this man, who would remain at his lodge hereafter. All of 
the men passed out, and there was one man who was selected by the 
chief to announce to the people that Man-having-greater-Powers-than- 
any-other-Man had become his son-in-law. After these men passed out, 
this was announced and was made known to all the village. On the 


174 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


following day this man stayed at the chief’s home, and late that even- 
ing he went back to where he lived and brought everything he had— 
such things as war-bonnet and some other war materials that he had, 
and went to his new home with the chief. He asked his new wife to 
put all his things at the head of his bed. Early the next day he started 
out to hunt and kill game for the whole family. It was a custom that 
any man marrying a young woman should at once begin to support 
the family by going hunting, or on the war-path to bring home a scalp 
for the family. So this became 'Man-having-greater-Powers-than-any- 
other-Man’s duty, for he was a great warrior, and a great hunter. 

Another time the chief called the people to assemble at his place, 
and when the people came about the place he announced to the men 
that he had made up his mind that his other daughter was old enough 
to become some one’s wife; that he (the chief) was wanting the men 
to go out hunting; and that any one killing a red turkey and bringing 
it to him should have his next daughter. Then the men all went about 
their places to be ready for the next day, for they thought the chief’s 
daughter to be a great prize. On the next day all the men went out 
hunting for the red turkey. After they had gone, Man-having-greater- 
Powers-than-any-other-Man went out to hunt for the red turkey, and 
the very first thing that he did was to scare up a big bunch of turkeys, 
and in the midst of these turkeys was one red turkey. He took a shot 
at the red one and killed it. After killing this turkey he returned 
home. On his arrival he found that some one had already killed one. 
This was done by the Coyote. When the Coyote had killed the turkey 
he found that it was a white turkey, and he had painted it red so that 
he could make the people believe that it was a red turkey. The Coyote 
was hanging around the place, thinking that he had won the prize, 
and that he would become the chief’s son-in-law. When this Man- 
having-greater-Powers-than-any-other-Man arrived with the red tur- 
key, and was seen by everybody and proved that he had killed the real 
red turkey, then the chief said that he would give the young woman to 
him for his wife. The Coyote was angry at this man who had won 
the chief’s daughter away from him the second time. This young 
woman became the second wife of Man-having-greater-Powers-than- 
any-other-Man. 

The chief had three more unmarried daughters. Some time after- 
ward the chief called all this men to assemble again at his place. The 
men came about the chief’s place, then the chief was asked by the people 
why he had called them to come to him. The chief told the men that 
he had made up his mind that his third daughter should become a wife 


THE MAN WHO BECAME A FLAMINGO. 175 


to some one, and that late that evening he wanted all the men to hang 
up their war-bonnets, so that the woman could come and walk around to 
see who had the prettiest bonnet, and the one whose bonnet she thought 
was the prettiest was to have her. Then all the men passed out, await- 
ing the time to come. That evening they all hung out their war- 
bonnets. Man-having-greater-Powers-than-any-other-Man hung out 
his bonnet on.one of the highest tipi poles, and everybody else had 
his hung up. The Coyote hung his bonnet, too, and as he looked out 
to see how everybody’s else bonnet looked, he saw at the chief’s place 
one hung up that looked as though it had a fire flying around it. The 
Coyote then called the chief, telling him that his place was on fire. The 
Coyote kept hallooing at the chief, telling him that his place was on 
fire. Just then the woman came out to look around at the bonnets, 
and to see who had the prettiest bonnet. The Coyote was then right 
close to the chief’s place, and he began to tell the young woman that 
he had the prettiest bonnet, and asked her to come to his place to see 
his bonnet. After she had looked all around she looked up above her 
father’s place and saw a bonnet hanging up there, and she thought that 
that was the prettiest bonnet of all, because it was different from any 
other bonnet, and so she called it the best one. This bonnet belonged 
to Man-having-greater-Powers-than-any-other-Man. The chief then 
told the men to take down their bonnets, for there was one already 
chosen to be the husband. ‘This made the third one of the sisters a 
wife of Man-having-greater-Powers-than-any-other-Man. The Coyote 
went off discouraged, because he could not coax the woman to choose 
his bonnet. 

Time went on, people doing the same old things, the men doing 
the hunting and also sending out war-parties, for this was their cus- 
tom in those times. Long afterward, again the chief called the men 
to come to his place. Then the men all came about the place wherein 
the chief resided. When everybody had arrived the chief was asked 
why he had called them together. The chief then said that his daughters, 
the two youngest ones, were old enough to become some one’s wives, 
and that he wanted them to choose their ht3bands. He said that all 
the men must dance that evening, so that his two daughters could see 
them, and that whosoever they might think to be the funniest dancer 
could have the two girls. It being early in the day the men went about 
their business and waited for evening to come. When the time came, 
the men built up several big fires, so that there would be light enough 
for the girls to see who was the funniest dancer. After this was done 
the dancing began. The men had all their best clothes on, for they all 


176 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


wanted to win. The men were allowed to pass close to the women, 
so as to let them see who was the funniest dancer. The chief intended 
that anyone at whom the girls would laugh would be the one to have 
them. The Coyote would dance right close to them, and would make all 
kinds of faces, so as to make the girls laugh at him, and then he would 
say, “Laugh at me, girls, and you shall be my wives,’ and then it 
would be only a short time until the Coyote would come around to 
where the girls were again, telling the same things over and over again. 
Every man passed by them, and after all there was a certain man who 
was seen by the two girls at whom they laughed when they saw him 
pass by. This was a sort of light-complexioned man, but small. This 
little man was Man-having-War-club (Waitskadaidaiyoks), Opossum. 
The chief gave his daughters to this man, and now he had two sons- 
in-law. The Opossum then had two wives, and it worried him to have 
two wives. Membrum igitur suum in partes duas findebat ut uxor 
utraque sua parte uteretur. Unde fit ut membrum Didelphidis fuidi 
soleat, quod quondam duas uxores habebat. 

After all the chief’s daughters were married the village existed 
the same as ever, having no trouble whatever until later on. One time 
the chief’s first grandson disappeared some way. This child was Child- 
sprung-from-Pipe-Bone, the son of Man-having-greater-Powers-than- 
any-other-Man. The chief then called forth all of the men most noted 
for their great powers. All the most famous men came about the place 
to find out why they were called. Then, when they all arrived at the 
chief’s place, they asked the chief why he had called them together. 
In reply, the chief said: “My grandchild, Child-sprung-from-Pipe- 
Bone, has disappeared, and I want the help of the most famous men 
to help me tto search for my grandchild. Any one finding the child 
may become the chief of the whole village.” This was the reward 
he offered for his grandchild. Then all the men prepared to hunt the 
child. Some went one way and some another. 

The man who was the father of this child, Child-sprung-from- 
Pipe-Bone, went off too, in search of his child, going from one place to 
another, and he stayed away for a number of days, until he found 
where the child was. He found that his child was in the water, and he 
saw that Woman-having-Powers-in-the-Water (Otskahahakaitshoi- 
diaa) had taken his child off into the water. This Man-having-greater- 
Powers-than-any-other-Man remained where he had found his child 
for a long time, watching his child in the water. Finally, some others 
found this man standing by the bank of the river. He was then asked 
why he was standing on the bank. In reply, he said that he had found 


SPIDERS WHO RECOVERED THE CHIEF'S GRANDSON. Lhé 


his child in the water, and that he was standing there watching his 
child, and that he would remain by the bank for all time. He said that 
for generations after generations thereafter, when he should be seen 
standing by the banks of the water, it would be known that he was still 
watching his child under the water. So ‘he never again returned to his 
former home. - Man-having-greater-Powers-than-any-other-Man then 
became Stick-standing-on-the-Bank (Hakeikouwi), or the Flamingo. 

The news was carried back to his wives. After the news had 
reached the home of the chief, then the chief called all the people of the 
village to assemble at ‘this home to hear what he had to say. The crowd 
began to rush to the chief’s lodge to hear the chief’s talk. When every- 
body was present it was made known to the chief that all the people 
in the village had assembled. He then made his talk, telling them that 
all the people had lived happily during all the times, but now, since 
his troubles had come and he had lost his grandchild, he wanted to 
become something else. He told all his friends that they could do as 
they wished. Everybody went off; some became fowls of the air, and 
some wild animals, and some remained as human beings. 


25. THE SPIDERS WHO RECOVERED THE CHIEF’S GRANDSON.* 


There were once two villages that were separated by a street ex- 
tending north and south; and in these villages were two chiefs, who had 
great multitudes of people. These chiefs, like the people, made their 
living by raising crops of corn and hunting for their meat, and were in 
the habit of sending out war-parties. The chief on the east side of the 
street had a full-grown son, while the chief on the west side had a 
daughter; and both the son and the daughter refused to marry among 
the young people of his or her own village. The young people in 
chiefs’ families like these were in the habit of having a sleeping place 
outside of the main lodge of their parents; this was fixed up with four 
tall upright forked poles and two long poles laid across in their forks, 
with plaited willows across the horizontals to make the structure solid; 
then they had sewed together enough tanned buffalo hides to cover the 
place, and they entered by means of a high ladder. When the children 
had gone to bed the parents would remove the ladder, so as to keep 
anyone from getting up to the bed. , 


*Told by Ahahe (Waco). 


178 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


One night the chief’s son took a notion to go and see the daughter 
of the chief in the west village, expecting, if possible, to make her his 
wife; for he knew that she had refused many others. At the same time 
the chief’s daughter in the west village resolved to go and see the 
chief’s son in the east village, with the expectation of marrying the 
young man; for she had heard of the young man refusing to marry the 
women of his own village. It happened that both, on the same night, 
after everybody had gone to bed, started, each for the other’s place. 
When the young man got outside of his father’s village he saw some 
one coming from the other village; and this young woman when she 
was outside of her father’s village, saw some one coming out of the 
village on the east. She went toward him, and they met. Each asked 
where the other was going. The young man said that he was going over 
to see the chief's daughter, in the west village; and the young woman 
said that she was going to see the chief’s son, in the east village. The 
young man said that he was the chief’s son; and the young woman, 
that she was the chief’s daughter. ‘They consulted as to whether or 
not they should go to the boy’s home or to the girl’s home. Finally 
they decided to live at the young man’s home, so they at once started 
and arrived at his place and went to bed. The young people of those 
times were in the habit of getting up early in the morning and going to 
the nearest creek or river for an early morning bath. So the next day, 
at the young man’s home and at the young woman’s home, the parents 
noticed that their children were not getting up as early as usual. The 
young man’s folks wondered why the boy did not get up as early as 
usual; and they sent the young man’s mother to see what was the mat- 
ter, and when she went up on the ladder she turned right back, for she 
saw some one in the bed with the boy. When she came down, she re- 
ported that there was some one there with the boy. She was told to 
return and tell her boy and his wife to come down at once and be like 
any other married couple, and have their breakfast. 

In the west village they looked for the chief’s daughter. They 
first looked for ther in the west village and then in the east village. We 
might say that the Coyote (Ketox) was the principal one in the crowd ° 
of those who were looking for the chief’s daughter; for he was always 
the chief’s servant. Finally the Coyote came to the boy’s village and 
came to the chief’s home. ‘There he found the girl, and on his return 
reported to the chief that his daughter had slipped away at night and 
had gone home to the chief’s son. But the chief was satisfied, for his 
daughter thad become the wife of the other chief’s son. The new man 
and wife lived long at the young man’s home, until there was a child 


SPIDERS WHO RECOVERED THE CHIEF'S GRANDSON. 179 


born to them, which was a boy. The women folks used to take the 
child around to their lodges, according to custom, for he was the child 
of a father and mother, both of whom belonged to chief’s families. 
When the time came for the child to nurse, they would bring him home 
and let him nurse. The women continued to take the child around, and 
as soon as One woman would return the child another one would come 
and take him, after he had nursed. When the child was kept a little 
too long, the Coyote would go around talking through the village, and 
asking who had the child, and would bring it home right away. Finally 
it happened that while the people were still asleep, a woman came early 
in the morning, and asked for the child, saying she was never sure of 
getting it during the daytime. The mother, still in bed, took the child 
out of the cradle and handed it to the woman. This old woman walked 
with a stick, which showed that she was old. ‘The old woman took the 
child early that morning. The following morning the mother called 
for her child to be returned to nurse. The Coyote went around the 
village, talking and asking who had the child and giving word that it 
should be returned to nurse. Finally they called for the child again, 
but failed to have it returned. The chief ordered his men to go through 
both villages to see if they could find the child. Later in the morning 
all the men folks returned, having failed to find the child. The chief 
called on all of the prominent men and others who had great powers, 
to recover the child. The people began to come to the chief’s place and 
ask the chief what he wanted. He ordered these men to look for the 
child, and he promised that any one who should find the young one 
should become a great chief among this child’s grandfather’s people. 
This included the wild beasts and fowls of the air, as they were called 
at this time. So it was a good while before the many men returned. 
They failed to recover the child, and finally all of them returned, not 
a single person having found the trail of the woman who was supposed 
to have carried off the child. 

Finally there came a little old woman who asked that she might 
try her luck in recovering the stolen child, and she asked that she might 
begin to search at the same hour the little old woman had taken the 
child. Early the next morning she came around the chief’s lodge, re- 
peating the same words that the little old woman had said when she 
took the child, and acting the same as she acted when entering the 
lodge. She had a walking-stick like the old women use, and made as 
if she were going to get the child. She walked across the ground like 
the old woman had done, and when stepping out just at the door of the 
grass-lodge she found where the little old woman had sunk and gone 


180 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


under the ground with the child. This woman who tried to recover the 
child was called Spider-Woman (Aitsisohedikits). She was gone the 
entire day, trailing the little old woman with the child, who was 
traveling under ground. She found her trail, but lost it again, and 
so returned. This showed that some one had greater powers than she. 
It happened that after Spider-Woman tad failed to recover the child 
the chief called all his men to his place. When they came to order he 
told this people that he wanted them to leave their homes for a little 
while and to go on a big hunting trip with him, so that he might forget 
some of the sad feeling he had in him on account of the loss of his 
grandchild. A few days after he told his people this the people began 
to move out, following their chief. When this was announced the 
Coyote spoke out, saying that he would remain at home, for he had 
a big family, and would move to the timber and live there for a 
while, until the people should return. When the people moved away 
the Coyote removed his family to the timber, near a creek. The Coyote 
hunted around and fished for his living. Besides his family, he was 
the only soul to be seen around the homes of the people. 

Once upon a time the Coyote went along the creek, watching the 
fishes under the water, trying to shoot them with his arrow. While 
he was standing there watching the fishes some one came around behind 
him, telling him to go ahead and shoot the fish. ‘This surprised the 
Coyote, and nearly scared the life out of him, and he said: “My friend, 
you surely scared me, for I knew I was the only man living around here, 
and did not expect to see anybody else here talking to me that way.” 
The man who talked to the Coyote was Moving-Fire (Kiatsatoria), 
Spider-Man. He was dressed differently from any one the Coyote had 
ever seen or known, having a feather on his head, and wearing a robe 
that had an arrow for a button, on his breast, and besides this he had 
about four arrows. When the Coyote saw this man he admired his way 
of dressing; so he begged Spider-Man that he might dress like him and 
asked him where he lived. Spider-Man said he lived right close ‘to 
the Coyote, and when going hunting he always thought he would 
come in and see him, as he always passed the Coyote’s place. Spider- 
Man then took the Coyote and dumped him in the water, then called 
out, and when the Coyote came out of the water Spider-Man told him 
to look at himself in the water. The Coyote looked and saw that he 
was like Spider-Man. Spider-Man then asked the Coyote if he was 
hungry, and the Coyote said that he was. So they both went to Spider- 
Man’s place, which was right close to the Coyote’s place. ‘When they 
had entered the Coyote looked around and saw by the fire a small piece 


SPIDERS WHO RECOVERED THE CHIEF'S GRANDSON. 181 


of meat hung on a stick, roasting. The Spider-Man gave the Coyote 
this meat to eat, and -he ate until it was nearly gone; then Spider-Man 
took the stick that had the piece of meat on it, and taking it on his 
hand, turned it, and there it was, a large piece of meat again. ‘The 
Coyote continued eating the meat until he had enough. Spider-Man 
asked ithe Coyote if he was brave, and the Coyote said that he was. 
Spider-Man told him that that was all he wanted to know about him, 
for he wanted him to go after the chief’s grandchild and wanted him to 
hasten in doing it, for power would be given him to enter where the . 
child was. He told the Coyote to hurry, for the child had been scorched 
nearly to death. 

The Coyote went back to his home, taking what meat was left to 
his family, and when his children began to eat the meat he showed his 
wife how to turn the stick once, so as to make the meat large again, 
when it was nearly all gone. Then he told her that he was going a long 
distance, looking for the lost child. The Coyote went to Spider-Man’s 
place again, and Spider-Man told him to go back home to tell ‘his wife 
that she was thereafter to be his sister instead of his wife, and he was 
to have a separate bed made where he was to sleep on his return. The 
Coyote went back to this home and told his wife that they would no 
longer be married, but be brother and sister; that he was to have a 
separate bed for himself, so that when the returned home he might sleep 
by himself. The Coyote then went right back to Spider-Man’s place 
to get ready to start for the chief's grandchild. When the Coyote 
entered the place he was asked if he had done as he was ordered, and 
the Coyote replied that he had. Spider-Man then told the Coyote that 
he would have to go by four dangerous beings before reaching the place 
where the child was, but if he was a brave man these four dangerous 
men would not scare him. He then started the Coyote off on the trip. 

The Coyote traveled fast until he came to some one standing, who 
told the Coyote not to come near him, for he would not be allowed to 
pass. Now, before the Coyote started he had been told what to do 
when he should meet these four men, who would talk to him in an abu- 
sive manner. He was also told that he would enter the place in the 
night, and that there he would find the child suffering from the heat 
of the fire; and there he would see a great multitude of people standing 
around and dancing over the child; that the would notice once in a 
while, people running to their homes, saying that Spider-Man had 
come, for they knew that Spider-Man was the only living being that 
could recover the child. The Coyote had also been told that when 
he got the child he should run hard, for something would explode, so 


182 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


that if he made any movement in dodging it he would be hit by the 
explosion of the thing that was hid under tthe pole that the child was 
hung on; that he should take his four arrows and shoot one toward 
the east, one toward the west, one toward the south, and the last one 
toward the north, so as to destroy the people by fire. When the Coyote 
came to the first dangerous man he noticed that it was a Headless- 
Man (Chearppeschaux), who tried to chase him back; but the Coyote 
continued his journey, and when he reached the place where Headless- 
Man was he at once went around him, set his face to the north and 
stuck his feet to the ground. Headless-Man then said: “Spider-Man, 
you have made up your mind to go after the lost child, have you? You 
are on the right road now.” So the Coyote continued his journey until 
he came to the next Headless-Man, who was the same as the one the 
Coyote had met before; but the Coyote kept on until he came up to 
him, and he said the same thing to him that the first one had said. The 
Coyote went around him once, faced him north, and stuck his feet 
tight to the ground, and he said: “Spider-Man, you have great 
powers, but you want to look out, for they will get you instead of your 
getting the child, if you do not.” The Coyote went on until he came 
to another Headless-Man, and he faced him. The Headless-Man asked 
the Coyote why he had come to that place, for that was his land. When 
the Coyote approached him he threw up his hands, saying: “Spider- 
Man, this is you, and you have made up your mind to recover the lost 
child. The child was carried by here, and if you get him you will 
have to sneak around.” The Coyote then went around the Head- 
less-Man, faced him toward the north, stuck this feet fast to the ground, 
then continued his journey, for he was told that he must get there before 
the child was scorched to death, so he had to go fast. The Coyote ran 
on to the last Headless-Man, and did with him as he had done with 
the others. The four Headless-Men were a sort of guard for the 
people who thad the child, and since the little old woman had such 
guards, it was certain that she was famous. If anybody beside the 
Coyote had found her trail these four Headless-Men would have done 
the fighting before any one ever could have reached the place where 
the child was. When the Coyote came to the last Headless-Man he was 
abused with all sorts of talk in order that he might be turned back, but 
the Coyote had full power to go by, for he had already passed the other 
Headless-Men. Drawing near to him, he said to the Coyote: “Oh! 
That is Spider-Man. You surely are going to pass through here, are 
you?” ‘Then the Coyote went around him once, faced him toward the 
north, stuck his feet tight to the ground and continued his journey. 


SPIDERS WHO RECOVERED THE CHIEF'S GRANDSON. 183 


4 


The next place to which the Coyote came was the village where 
the child was. Going in an easterly direction he reached the west side 
of the village. In the center of the village was a great, big fire. The 
Coyote took one of his arrows, shot it toward the east, and when the 
arrow struck in the ground there was started a fire. He then shot one 
arrow toward the south side, and when the arrow struck the ground it 
started another fire there. He took another arrow, shot it toward the 
north, and there was started another fire. He then took another arrow 
and stuck it right where he was, and there made another fire. Then 
he made a quick dash, and on arriving at the place where the child was 
the people ran a little, saying that Spider-Man had come, and all 
scattered, going in all directions. This gave the Coyote a good chance 
to get the child. The people were scorching the child every night, and 
were making all sorts of fun. They believed that Spider-Man was the 
only man who had great powers; and if he should ever try to get the 
child he would be successful; and this is the reason why the people at 
the village would say: “Spider-Man has come,’ and run to their 
lodges. When his chance came the Coyote made a quick dash, and took 
the child down from the pole, saying: “Spider-Man has come!’ He 
ran haid as he could back to the open space, in order to escape from the 
fire himself. The fire was about to cut him off, when he reached the 
place and passed through. Then something exploded, and he could 
hear thundering and something like a streak of lightning coming near 
him, but he still went on at full speed. This was the last thing to 
escape. The things that flew by him were small stones, that are said to 
strike things when we say “lightning has struck” anything. 

The Coyote, having made his escape, stopped a moment, having 
the young child on his arm. He rested here for a while and then 
continued on his way back home. Spider-Man, of course, already 
knew that the Coyote was coming back with the child, for he had 
powers to foretell anything that was to happen. The Coyote left the 
village, burning up the evil ones who had stolen the child. On his way 
home the Coyote came to the last Headless-Man that he had met, and 
he made him carry the child on his back until he gave out, then took 
his bow and struck him on the head, killing him instantly. Then he 
started on home, came to the next headless-Man, made him carry the 
child on his back until he gave out, then killed him with his bow. He 
continued his journey, losing no time, for he was anxious to get home. 
He came to another Headless-Man, made him carry the child, traveling 
as hard as he could go until finally the Headless-Man gave out. As 
each one of these Headless-Men gave out he would beg to be released 


184 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


without harm. But the Coyote had been told not to mind anything they 
should say, so he killed them as he went along. He still kept on travel- 
ing, for he had power to travel a long distance without giving out. 

On the way home the Coyote thought to himself: “Well, there 
are not two ways about my getting to be a great chief. I have recov- 
ered the lost child,” and when he arrived he met Spider-Man. Spider- 
Man took the poor, suffering child, threw him in the water and called 
the child once, and up it came out of the water, floating. Spider-Man 
took him out of the water and told the Coyote to go and bring one of 
his children that was about the same age as the chief’s child. The 
Coyote went up to his place, entered his home, called the old woman, 
saying: “Sister, I have returned from the hardest trip I have ever had 
in my life. I got the lost child and brought it home, and am now 
going to take one of our children to where Spider-Man is.” So he 
took one of his children to where the chief’s child was. Spider-Man 
took the Coyote’s child and threw it into the water and called it again, 
and out it came. This made the Coyote’s child like the chief’s child, so 
that they could not be distinguished the one from the other. They 
went home, stopping at Spider-Man’s place, where no one but the 
Coyote had ever been. The Coyote was given that same power, so that 
no one might see that he was living there. He was very proud of him- 
self, for what he had done and what he was going to have when the 
rest of the people should arrive home. When he was given all these 
powers he was commanded not to have anything to do with women, for 
Spider-Man was a single man himself. 

Time passed, and the people began to come back home from the 
hunt. The Coyote was told to go to the chief’s place and to tell the 
chief that he had recovered his child, and that the child was living with 
his folks. He was also told that the chief was going to send for the 
child; that he (the Coyote) would be given a home by the chief’s people, 
and would live well thereafter; that he was to remember that his own 
wife was not to be his wife any more, or any one’s else. So, late in 
the evening, when the people arrived at their homes, the Coyote went 
toward the village, and there met some one whom he asked to show him 
the place where strangers went when visiting the place. He was told 
to go to the largest grass lodge in the middle of the village. He walked 
on until he reached the place, and entered. The chief and others 
were surprised to see such a wonderful man as this. When he reached 
the place he was told that there was sadness among the people, and 
it would not be pleasant for visitors to be around for a while; that 
there was a child that had been carried away before they. went on the 


SPIDERS WHO RECOVERED THE CHIEF'S GRANDSON. 185 


hunt, and that this was the reason why the people had left the place for 
a while. They asked him the object of his visit, and the Coyote re- 
quested the chief to call his people together, for he wanted to say 
something. The chief sent ‘out a man to call all the people to come to 
his place, for there was a stranger in the village that wanted to say 
something to them. The people came to the chief’s place and were 
told to come to order, so that they might listen to what the stranger 
had to say. The Coyote was then called upon to say whatever he had 
to say. The Coyote began by saying that he was the man whom they 
had known as the Coyote. Then he commenced to tell his story—how 
these chiefs had their villages divided by the street; how one of the 
chiefs had a son, the other a daughter; how they came to be man and 
wife; how the child was born to them; how it disappeared, some evil 
person having carried the child off for the sake of mischief; how it 
happened that the chief called all the prominent men to look around 
for the child; how every one had failed to recover the child; how 
Spider-Woman, after finding the trail of the little old woman, had 
failed ; and how they were compelled to leave the village for a while. 
The Coyote then told how he remained at home and moved his family 
near the water in the timber; how he made his living by hunting and 
fishing ; how some one had taken pity on him to make him such a famous 
man as he was. He told everything that took place while the people 
were gone, and how he was sent after the child. While he was telling 
the fore part of the story the people would say, “Yes,” and “Yes.” 
But finally the people would not say a word when he began the real 
story of getting the child. It was the custom, as a sign of attention 
when any one was talking, for the people all to say, “Yes,” “Yes,” 
“Yes.” The Coyote then began the story of his life while on the way 
to the place where the child had been cairied to, telling what a hard 
time he had in pursuing the directions he had been ordered to pursue; 
what narrow escapes he had had in getting the lost child; how he suc- 
ceeded in reaching the place; how he had destroyed the evil village; 
how he returned with the child; and so he told the whole story of his 
life and that of the child’s. He ended his story by saying that his wife 
was never to be his wife any more, but that she was to be his sister 
thereafter; that the child was over to his home, and the people would 
be allowed to go and get it, and another child of his own. 

The chief at once sent forth men to bring the child. The Coyote 
told the people where he was living. When the people went out to get 
the child they failed to find the place. The Coyote knew that they 
would not find it, for he had been given power to conceal his lodge 


186 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


so that no one could ever know there was anybody living there. The 
Coyote rose from the ground and went forth himself with a crowd of 
men after the child. They took a large robe to carry the child and the 
Coyote’s child. They arrived at the Coyote’s place, and the men folks 
laughed a little at each other, saying to one another: “Why, we have 
been right here, and why is it that we could not find the place?” They 
took both children, and the men folks said to one another: “Which one 
of these children is the chief’s grandson?” for they were both alike. 
When they arrived at the chief’s place the Coyote asked the father and 
mother of the child which one of the children was theirs; and the 
people were astonished at the likeness of the two children. The chief’s 
son and the chief’s daughter were happy to see their child once more, 
and ‘gave the Coyote high honors for recovering it. The chief at once 
ordered the people to commence a new home for the Coyoté; for the 
Coyote was given full power to become a great chief. They at once 
went after his family when his new home was completed. The child’s 
father and mother adopted the Coyote’s child for their child, too, for 
the two children were alike. The Coyote moved into his new home that 
the chief had given him to live in, and he called often on Spider-Man, 
as he had been told to do. Here the Coyote lived for a long time, until 
the women began to admire him and tried to marry him; but the 
Coyote still remembered the orders that were given to him, and refused 
to marry every woman who came along at night, though the Coyote 
was a fine-looking man. But after a long time the Coyote took a 
notion that he would accept no one but Woman-who-wears-Shell- 
Rattles (Nekastarahars), who was fine-looking. He said to himself 
that if that woman ever came along he would accept her, and have her 
for his wife. So once upon a time he heard this woman coming, and 
she had on loud rattling shells, so that anybody might hear her a good 
way off. When she came the Coyote quickly allowed her to lie down. 
Spider-Man at once knew that the Coyote had forgotten his orders and 
took away his great powers that night, and the next morning when 
Woman-who-wears-Shell-Rattles woke she had a true coyote sleeping 
with her. The woman was scared nearly to death, and this caused the 
Coyote to wake up, and he, too, was scared. So the Coyote ran out of 
his place, going out in the wilderness as he is to-day. In this way, 
whenever the Coyote had powers given to him he would by misfor- 
tune lose them. As ‘soon as the chief had heard this he called all his 
people together,and told them that since some one had done him wrong, 
and he constantly felt that some other wrong might befall him, he 
would allow his people to go where they wanted to go, and become 


THE ORIGIN OF THE EAGLES. 187 


animals if they wished. So, some went in groups, according to families, 
turning into some other form; some went up in the air, becoming 
the fowls of the air; and some turned into wild animals. ‘The chief 
remained as a human being, as also did his family, and the majority of 
them still were his people. 


26. THE ORIGIN OF THE EAGLES.* 


_ There was once a certain village in which there was a chief by 
the name of Young-Boy-Chief (Waiksedia). In those times the people 
were in the habit of wandering around on all kinds of expeditions. 
Whether they went hunting or on the war-path they were always led 
by Young-Boy-Chief. When starting on an expedition they would go 
south. After leaving the village they had to cross a deep river. In 
crossing this river Young-Boy-Chief would stay at the crossing until 
everybody had crossed. 

At one time, when they went out on a hunt, they crossed the river 
and Young-Boy-Chief, as usual, waited until everybody had crossed, 
then he followed the people. It was his business to help everybody 
at any time help was needed. When they came to any place like a 
river he was the first one there and the last one to leave. During this 
trip they hunted, and sent a war-party against the Tricksters (Kinas), 
their enemies. ‘Tihe Tricksters were what are now called “eheehe”’ 
(prairie-chickens). They were great warriors. Although the people 
of those times had greater powers than we have, the Tricksters were 
also great warriors, and there were worlds full of these people, and 
they were famous in warfare. They were double acting people—right 
handed and left handed. When in battle, they shot their arrows with 
the right hand and with the left hand. They were great warriors to 
fight against. The other people carried on all kinds of wars against 
them. When they came to fight, sometimes they would break apart, 
having killed equal numbers in battle; and sometimes one side would 
get the better of the other. 

This expedition that Young-Boy-Chief went out with was a 
hunting party, and they killed game of all kinds, such as deer, buffalo, 
and turkey. It was a long while before they returned home. On their 
return from the hunt Young-Boy-Chief did his duty in helping the 
people when help was needed. When they reached the river, on their 
return home, he would remain a little longer than the others. While 
waiting there at the river there came an old woman with an old 





*Told by Ahahe (Waco.) 


188 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


woman’s walking stick. Young-Boy-Chief asked if he might help her 
across, and she said that he might. After entering the river the old 
woman asked Young-Boy-Chief to pack her up on his back, for she 
said that she was not able to wade the river. Young-Boy-Chief packed 
the old woman across on his back, and when they landed on the other 
side he asked ther to get off, but the old woman refused to do so, and told 
him to let her down on the edge of the village. Young-Boy-Chief 
went on with the old woman on his back. When they reached the 
village it was getting dark, but he still had the old woman on his back, 
for she refused to get off. Young-Boy-Chief then asked her if she 
wanted him to pack her to the place where she lived, but she said: 
“No; you have refused to marry any one, and since you always refuse 
to marry I have made up my mind to be your wife.” Young-Boy- 
Chief said to the woman: “If this is the case, now get off from my back 
and you shall be my wife, and I will live with you always.” But the 
old woman said: “No, no! Iam now on your back and I shall never get 
off; I am on to stay.” Young-Boy-Chief then thought to himself: 
“Well, if I am going to have this woman on my back, I might just as 
well go home.” 

Now, the men were in the habit of sitting up with the chief, Young- 
Boy-Chief’s father ; and they were waiting, wondering why he had not 
come home, for it was late. When Young-Boy-Chief got to the place 
he stopped outside and waited until some one should step out to bring 
in some wood to put upon the fire. Finally, some one stepped out, and 
when he returned, said: ‘“Young-Boy-Chief is outside standing with 
some one.” ‘The chief called to Young-Boy-Chief, saying: “If you 
have selected some one for your wife, bring her in.” Young-Boy- 
Chief went in, went toward his bed and at once lay down. When 
Young-Boy-Chief had lain down the old woman spoke to his people, 
saying that she was their daughter-in-law. The people said to the 
woman: “If you will come off from the back of Young-Boy-Chief you 
may have some supper.” But Young-Boy-Chief’s wife did not come 
off to eat. Then men returned to their homes, and Young-Boy-Chief 
went to bed, thinking how the could get rid of the woman. On the 
next day he still had the old woman on his back, and he finally found 
that he could not get rid of her, for she was stuck to his back. Deinde 
anus in eius tergo urinari defaecareque incipicbat. Young-Boy-Chief 
ate but twice a day, and felt pretty bad. His life was about to come to 
an end, because the old woman was such a nuisance to him, and his 
people were afraid he was going to die. 


THE ORIGIN OF THE EAGLES. 189 


One time the Coyote paid the chief a visit, and said that he wanted 
all the chief’s men called for the purpose of getting the woman off 
from Young-Boy-Chief’s back. The chief called his men to his place 
and they asked him why he had called them. The Coyote then told 
them that he wanted them to help the chief’s son to get rid of the 
woman who was on his back. He selected four of the strongest men in 
the crowd. He then told Young-Boy-Chief to take hold of a pole of 
the grass-lodge while the four men pulled the old woman. The pulling 
hurt Young-Boy-Chief so that they had to stop, and they failed to 
pull the old woman off. Every day the men were at the chief’s place, 
watching Young-Boy-Chief, to see what was going to happen to him. 
One day there was a boy on the edge of the village shooting at birds. 
While he was shooting he shot at a bird, but missed it, and the arrow 
glanced some distance and lit near the place of an old man named 
Ears-Painted-red (Watatskatia), the Turtle. While there picking up 
his arrow, the boy heard the Turtle say: “I wonder how Young-Boy- 
Chief is getting on with the old woman on his back? It would be 
easy for me to get her off if they asked me to do it.” The boy lis- 
tened closely to the old man’s remarks, then he ran to Young-Boy- 
Chief’s home and entered. He was then about to say something, when 
they put him out of the place, and he returned to his play. One of the 
men finally spoke, saying: “Did not the boy say something about some 
one?’ Another man spoke, saying: “I believe the boy had some- 
thing to tell us.” They at once sent for the boy to find out what he had 
to say. They finally succeeded in finding him, and brought him before 
the chief to say what he had tried to say when entering the lodge the 
first time. The boy began to tell what he had heard some one saying 
at a certain place. He said that while he was out shooting birds he shot 
at a bird and missed it, and his arrow glanced some distance and landed 
right behind a man’s lodge. While there getting his arrow he heard a 
man saying that he wondered how Young-Boy-Chief was getting along 
with the old woman on his back, and that if they should ever call him 
he would very easily get the woman off. They at once sent the Coyote 
to bring the Turtle, that he might repeat what he had said. The 
Turtle said that he could take the old woman off the young man. As 
soon as he said this the old woman who was fastened to Young-Boy- 
Chief began to talk, saying that there was no one who could take her 
off, and she raged when the Turtle said he could unfasten her. The 
Turtle then ordered the chief to have four men go on a buffalo hunt 
and get the fat from the hump of the buffalo’s back. The chief at once 
sent out four men, and the Turtle returned to his home. Before he 


* 


IgO THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


returned he commanded the chief to get a full grown buffalo robe and 
have it spread on the ground and ‘have Young-Boy-Chief seated there, 
facing north, so that when he returned everything would be ready. 
He promised that he would do the rest of the work himself. The 
following day the men returned from their hunt with the buffalo fat. 
When the Turtle returned home he made a small bow and four arrows, 
and got some kind of paint called “darequits.” Early the next morning 
he sent word to the chief to have everything ready. Immense crowds 
of people began to gather around the place to see some wonderful per- 
formance, for the people knew that it was dangerous to do the work 
that the Turtle was doing. The following morning the Turtle began 
to sing, walking very slowly: 


“Ath-he-nar-he-no-neer-ah. 

Ah-he-nar-he-no-neer-ah- 
hiare-ne. 

Ah-he-nar-he-no-neer-ah. 

Ah-he-nar-he-no-neer-ah. 

Ah-he-nar-he-no-neer-ah- 
hare-ke.” 


























a 
[Seven repetitions. The singer gradually sharps so that the last time over is a full degree 


higher than the first.] 

This is the song he used, putting in’ the words himself. He told 
about the life of Young-Boy-Chief—how he did his duty in helping 
along his people; how kind he was to his people ; how he helped the old 
woman across the river; how she stuck to him; what she had told 
Young-Boy-Chief about his refusing to marry ; how he was then suffer- 
ing from the troubles he was having; how he was going to get rid of 
the old woman by having the Turtle to help him out; how the Turtle 
was coming, and was about to enter the place. He kept singing the 
song, putting in the whole story of the young man’s life. He entered 
the place and kept on singing until he went near to where Young-Boy- 
Chief was, having his bow and arrows and some others that he intended 
to use after getting the woman, off. While the Turtle was on the way 
to this place the old woman kept saying that a fellow like him could 
never get her off, for there was no man that could do it, and she meant 
to stay on Young-Boy-Chief’s back for all time, until she should ruin 
him. The Turtle entered, and the old woman found that he was a 
powerful man, and that he was painted in accordance with the meaning 
of the name, which was Water-Monster-Turtle. The Turtle was painted 
on both sides of his head. Now the old woman began to keep quiet, 


THE COYOTE AND THE BUFFALO. I9gl 


and ‘promised to give the Turtle all the powers she had if he would leave 
her alone, but the Turtle would not listen to her. When he entered 
the grass-lodge he came around to the south side of the room, then 
stepped behind Young-Boy-Chief. He commanded one of his arrows 
to land upon the back of the old woman’s right hand. He took another 
arrow and commanded it to land upon the back of her left foot. Then 
he shot, and off came the woman’s left foot. He took another arrow 
and commanded it to land upon the back of her left hand. He shot, and 
off came the woman’s left hand. He took his last arrow and com- 
manded it to land upon the back of the woman’s right foot. He shot, 
and off came her right foot. 

After the wicked woman was taken off of Young-Boy-Chief’s back 
the Turtle gave the men permission to do with ther as they pleased. 
Then the Coyote took a club and beat her to death. This woman was 
Something-that-will-stick-to-anything (Tatiniyarskaharts), a green 
tree frog, such as is often seen now-a-days. The Turtle then took 
the buffalo fat that the four men had got and rubbed it all over the 
sore places on Young-Boy-Chief. He then took the red plaint that he 
had ground up and put it over the sore places and the young man was 
healed and returned to his home at once. After this had happened, the 
chief feared that something else might occur, so he at once called all 
the people to his place, and when they had come he announced to them 
that they already knew what had happened to his son, Young-Boy- 
Chief; that he was afraid something else might occur; that he wanted 
his people to do as they pleased about leaving their homes the next 
morning. ‘The people returned to their homes, and on the next morn- 
ing they began to go out in groups, especially by families; some turn- 
ing into fowls of the air, and some into beasts of the woods and plains. 
The chief’s family took a gourd of water and poured the water into 
the fire, and when the smoke went up in the air they were in the midst 
of the smoke, and became Fiagles (Kos). Some of the people remained 
in the village. 


2%. THE COYOTE AND THE BUFFALO.* 


Once upon a time there was a chief called Wolf (Wasaka), who 
controlled a large village of hunters. These people lived chiefly by 
hunting buffalo, but there came a time when no one could ever see 
any more buffalo, and they did not know what had become of them. 
In this village there was one person who was considered the swiftest 





*Told by Cheater (Wichita). 


1Q2 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


runner of all the people, and this was Black-Wolf, and was always 
sure to kill whatever he went after. One time the Coyote decirled to 
go out a long way off to see if he could not find some trail of the 
buffalo, for the people at home were in need of food. He went toward 
the north, and traveled four long days, but still could not find any 
sign of buffalo. At the end of the fourth day he came to a lodge all 
by itself. He did not show himself, but kept his eye on the people who 
were living there. He saw there was one man with his family, and 
noticed that they had plenty of meat. He sneaked around to find where 
the man kept his meat, but he could not find out, and so he thought 
that he would try a trick. He turned himself into a little dog, and after 
dark crawled into the lodge. When the children saw him they petted 
him and played with him. The old man told them to let him alone, 
but the children were pleased to have a little puppy to play with and 
so they fed him and took him with them to bed. Early the next morn- 
ing, before the old woman was up, the old man rose from the bed to go 
out hunting. As the old man fixed himself up to go out the Coyote 
crawled out the other way to follow him and see where he got his meat. 
As soon as he saw the man going over the hill toward the west the 
changed himself into his usual form and followed the man. Every hill 
the man went over he would follow, until he saw the man going toward 
the large hill, and there he saw a great, big stone lying on the side of the 
hill. When the man reached the place he went around to hear what 
he would say. He finally came to a place where he could not be seen, 
and there he commanded the stone to get to one side, and called to the 
fattest buffalo to come out. When he had said this the buffalo came 
out and the man shot him with an arrow and commenced to butcher 
him. After he had taken off all the lean meat he commanded the 
buffalo to rise and get back in the hole, and as the buffalo went in, the 
stone moved back to its place again. The man then packed up and 
cleaned the place where the buffalo had been lying. The man was 
Raven (Kawita), Crow-Buffalo. The Raven then started back to his 
home, and as he went over the hill the Coyote went to the place, and said 
to himself: “I wonder if that stone would obey my command?” He then 
commanded the stone to move to one side, and called to all the buffalo 
to get out. When the stone moved to one side there slowly came out 
a great herd of buffalo. Then he commanded the stone to move back 
again. He then chased the buffalo toward the place where he had come 
from. He traveled the same length of time that it took him to come. 
He reached his village at midnight, and called on the Wolves, and told 
what he had done, and said that his people need never go hungry any 


THE COYOTE AND THE BUFFALO. 193 


more, and that the children would cease to cry for food, for he had 
found the place where the buffalo were hid, and by whom they were 
taken away; that it was the Raven who had done it. He told what a 
hard time he had had traveling so long a distance to find where the 
buffalo were, and he said that on the next day the men could go out as 
they used to do, instead of having to go out so far, for the buffalo 
could be seen close to their village. He told the chief to have this an- 
nounced to the people at once, so that everybody would know that he 
was to have something to eat the next day. The chief himself went out, 
passing from one lodge to another, singing: 


De-gee-lar-ler-sger-air-ah-sch-gee- 

Noe-ah-schgee-hee-he Wer-le- 
gar-saits-ger-le-wek-eh-hee-he. 

Noe-ah-schgee-hee-he-dahl. 

De-dar-gee-dar-le-wa-wa- 

Se-wa-lar-har-ha- 

Wazar-har-ha, etc. 


[aera 
(2 Ce IS) ee sR ee, 

LESTE LS el ed ee SE 

Le Ff @ | CO @ | oF |  #T @ ¢ 





‘Yhere is no essential variation in the several repetitions, In measures 10-16, inclusive, the 
notes are sometimes transposed, the dotted half notes occurring on F, but in such instances the 
note in the sixteenth measure is always F. After a. pause, the song is taken up four degrees 
higher and repeated literally at the new pitch. ] 


This night has come the Coyote. 
He has said that the herds of buffalo are near. 
He has said that the herds of buffalo are near. 


Wa-ar-har-ha. (Barking of the wolf.) 
Wa-ar-har-ha. (Barking of the wolf.) 


When this announcement was made, everybody in the village woke 
up, saying: “Tf this is the case, we are sure that we are going to have 
meat hereafter.’”’ On the next day the herds of buffalo were seen, and 
the men went to kill them, and they found that the buffalo were not 
wild as they had been. From this time on the people had all the meat 
they wanted, for there was no one to cut off the buffalo from them any 
more. They knew afterward that it was Raven who had played the 
trick on them to starve them out, and that it was the Coyote who had 
recovered the buffalo from the place where they had been put. After 


194 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


all had eaten all that they wanted the chief Wolf announced to his 
people that because of the hard times they had had, and so that it 
might not happen again, he thought that they should remain what they 
were. So they did, and they remained in the earth-lodges, and they 
were Wolves, Coyotes, and Black-Wolves. All these belonged to the 
same class of animals. Here all these animals lived in their earth- 
lodges, and they still live in that way. 


28, HALF-A-BOY, WHO OVERCAME THE GAMBLER.* 


Half-a-Boy (Weksnikataiwa) lived in a village where there 
were a great many people. ‘This boy was small in height, for he had a 
hard time in his early life, and that kept him from growing. The place 
where this boy lived was a lively place, and the young people played 
all kinds of games, such as shinny, women’s double-ball game, arrow 
games, etc. These games were played every evening by the young 
people. This boy Half-a-Boy played his games with the boys of his 
size. In this village there was nothing that could harm any one, but 
there was another village north of this village where there was a bad . 
man, who never let any one escape from his village without being” 
killed. Once upon a time this boy Half-a-Boy decided to pay this 
village a visit. He often heard of a man who could play the wheel 
game pretty well, and so he took along with him plenty of things to bet 
when playing with this man. The wheel game was different from other 
wheel games played in the village where Half-a-Boy was from, and the 
rules of the game were harder than theirs, so that when any man from 
another village was defeated he never again returned to his own village, 
because he had either to lose his life or win the cruel man’s life. 

Half-a-Boy started to the village, and it took two days to get 
there. The village where the boy was going was due north. It was late 
in the evening, and he noticed that the village extended east and west, 
and had in the middle an open place, and in this place he saw a great 
many people playing some kind of a game. He waited until sundown 
before entering the place. The place where he waited was a small hill, 
and at the bottom was the village, and north of the village was flowing 
water. Upon entering the place that evening he asked the person he 
met if he could tell him where he could find a place for shelter. Half-a- 
Boy was directed to-go straight to the north side of the village, where 
he would find the largest tipi, and there he could stay all night. The 


*Told by Man-who-harms-while-Jesting (Waco). 


HALF-A-BOY, WHO OVERCAME THE GAMBLER. 195 


boy was told that that was a public stopping place for visitors. On his 
arrival at the place he entered the largest tipi, and he found that that 
was the home of the chief of that part of the village. Half-a-Boy was 
requested to pass on where all visitors generally were directed, on the 
north side of the lodge. Then the chief began to tell him what trouble 
there was in the -village, and how all his visitors suffered when they 
came to visit him. The trouble was, that any one who visited in the 
village lost his life, and that there was no way for any one to escape 
from death on account of the cruel man who lived there. This chief 
also told the boy that, perhaps, the servant of the cruel man had already 
seen him and had carried the news of his arrival, and that early next 
morning he would be called to come to the ground where this man 
_ played his wheel games. He told the boy that he would not only have 
to play his wheel games, but also would have to bet whatever he had, 
and when he had lost all he would have to bet his life. After telling 
Half-a-Boy all this he was given something to eat. At this time some 
of this chief’s friends came around to visit, and later that night thev 
went to their homes. Then Half-a-Boy went to sleep. 

Early the next morning he was called to go to the grounds to meet 
his opponent. Before going there, he first went to some flowing water 
for his early morning bath. On his return from the bath he went 
back to the chief’s lodge to get his things that he had brought along to 
bet. When going to the grounds he was accompanied by the chief 
and his friends. Upon their arrival they commenced to play the game. 
In the game that they played they used two long sticks and a wheel. 
First, they threw the wheel a long way, then ran to it and pitched the 
sticks into the ring. When they started off tthe boy lost, and he kept 
losing until late that day, and finally lost all of the things he had brought 
along to wager. When he told his opponent that he had lost all of his 
things and there was nothing else for him to bet, the man told him 
that he had to bet his life, for his life was just as good as the things 
that he had already won from him. The boy was told that his body was 
equal to three bets, the right side of his body, the left, and his back- 
bone. At this time the sun began to get lower and lower. The boy 
made the first bet and lost, and when they turned back the boy lost 
again, and at this time the sun went down, and it began to get dark. 
The boy then asked his opponent if the third part of his body could be 
left until the next day, but the man said he had never had any man 
whom he would play with on the second day, and so he would have to 
kill him without winning the part. They talked for a good while before 
the boy could persuade him to have his life spared until the next day. 


196 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


At last they agreed that he would remain at the grounds and sleep 
there, so that the next morning the man could come back again and 
win the other part of his body. This man then called the boy Half-a- 
Boy, because he had lost a part of his body by gambling, and so this 
was when he first got his name Half-a-Boy. 

Everybody left the grounds, and Half-a-Boy remained there where 
he had agreed to stay all that night. Half-a-Boy then did not know 
what to do after this, and so stayed awake until he saw that everybody 
had gone to sleep. After everybody had gone to sleep he heard two 
women coming toward him where he was lying, and calling his name, 
“Half-a-Boy,” and saying to one another: “Go ahead and speak to 
him.” The boy heard everything they said, and finally both of the 
women came to where he was and called to him to rise, for they were 
coming after him. The boy arose from his sleeping place and went 
with the two women. While on the way they told him that they had 
taken pity on him, and they asked him if he could run fast enough to 
keep up with them. The boy told them that he was a fast runner. The 
two women then told him to come, and the boy found out that the 
women were Buffalo cows. They all then began to travel faster, so 
that the boy could have plenty of time to come back. They traveled 
part of that night, and while traveling he saw a light a good long way 
from them. Then the two Buffalo cows told him that where he had seen 
light was where they were going, and that the light was their grand- 
father and grandmother taking a smoke. They then finally reached the 
place, and he saw an old man and an old woman sitting down smoking. 
These two young women then requested the old people to make haste 
and give him powers, so that he could get out of his trouble. Deinde 
puero praeceptum est ut ad tergum tauri iret, et, cum eius membrum 
semel prehendisset, “palum atrum”’ posceret; membro iterum prehenso, 
“palum rubrum” posceret. Haec igitur fecit. Deinde ei praeceptum est 
ut ad bovem profectus cius volvam prehenderet, anulumque posceret. 
Hoc facto, puer iam palos duos anulumque habebat. Then the boy was 
requested by the old man to place the black stick where it belonged. 
This black stick belonged in the ring, representing the old man and the 
old woman. Then he was given instructions. He was requested to let 
the black stick remain in the ring, where it belonged, and to give the 
red stick to his opponent. He was instructed not to allow any one to 
get the black stick out of the ring. The first thing he was to do on 
arriving at the village was to go to the chief’s house and place the 
sticks and wheel where he had his other things, on the wall between 
the tipi and the poles, and to let the black stick remain in the ring, and 


HALF-A-BOY, WHO OVERCAME THE GAMBLER. 197 


then go to where he had agreed to stay. He was told, in the beginning 
of their playing, when using his opponent’s sticks, to pass the stick 
through from the left hand four times, and when he hurled the stick, to 
hit the other man’s stick and break it, so that he would not have any 
to use; that after so doing, his opponent would call for his stick, just 
as a joke, knowing that he had already won his sticks; and when he 
should say: this the boy should tell the chief quietly to go after his 
stick, not failing to tell him to let the black stick remain in the ring, 
and telling him also to carry the black stick with the ring on his right 
and the red one on the left, and also telling him to offer the red one 
to his opponent; that when bringing in his sticks to the grounds his 
opponent would try hard to get to use his stick, but that he should not 
let him use it. He was also told that every time he won, he should 
double this bets, and finally should bet his body against the body of 
the man; that when he had won part of the man’s body he should not 
listen to his promises, but should keep on playing for the last part of 
his body; that then he should step out of the way and let them (the 
Buffalo) take his life. This was the instruction given by these two 
Buffalo. 

The boy immediately turned back to the village. He soon ar- 
rived, and went straight to the chief’s place, and placed his sticks as 
he had been requested to do. Then he went to bed for a while, until 
nearly daylight. Then he went straight to the place where he had 
agreed to stay all that night. Early that morning there came his 
opponent, ready to win the part of the boy’s body. At that time, crowds 
from both sides of the village began to gather around the scene of 
the play ground. The chief whom this boy was visiting came around 
to see the last of the visiting boy. The boy then asked his opponent 
to let him see his stick that he was using, but this man refused to let 
him lay his hands on his stick. The boy kept begging to be allowed 
to see his stick, so that finally the stick was handed to him, and he was 
told if that would do him any good to go ahead and look at it. So 
the boy took the stick in his right hand and passed it through his left 
hand four times and then gave it back. Then they commenced to play 
the game. On the first trial, when pitching the sticks, the boy hit the 
man’s stick and broke it in two. The man was angry, and was about 
to kill him. Finally he asked the boy in jest to go after his own sticks, 
if he had any, so that they might finish the game. The boy called the 
chief and asked him to go after his sticks. He told the chief to let the 
black stick remain in the wheel and leave it on the right hand, and 
the other on the left, and to be sure in handling the sticks to hand 


198 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


the red one to the other man, and the black one to him. The chief 
went off toward his home slowly, wondering if this poor boy had any 
sticks. When the chief arrived at the place he saw the sticks and took 
them, as he was requested to do. When he came to the grounds he 
handed the red one to the man, but he refused to accept the red one, 
saying ‘that he expected to use the black one. The boy took his black 
stick and the man then had to use the red stick. The man asked 
to be allowed to lay his hands on the black stick, and so he was given 
the black stick, expecting to do the same thing that was.done to him. 
Then the boy said that the wheel had to be thrown a long way in the 
grass before pitching the sticks. | 

Then the big game began. When first pitching the sticks the 
wheel always had to be thrown in the grass and the black stick would 
never fail to find the wheel, because the stick really belonged there. 
Night or day, the black stick would find the wheel. When they first 
pitched the stick the man tried to break Half-a-Boy’s stick, but failed. 
The boy won the first time, and won back one third of his body. Half- 
a-Boy had already announced that he wanted to double his bet at all 
times. He won right along, without allowing his opponent to win a 
single point. Half-a-Boy finally won everything that the people in his 
opponent’s village had, until the people began to carry out everything 
that they had, for they were glad to see some one win things from the 
cruel man. Before noon, Half-a-Boy won everything that was in the 
village. This man whom he was playing with was a shadow, and his 
name was Shadow-of-the-Sun (Ihakaatskada). He began to cry out, 
“This is the first time I ever had any one who could play so well! I 
wonder where he got such powers!” He told the boy that he had won 
all that he had, but the boy told him to bet his people off; that there 
were a good many of his people yet. In doubling the bets it did not 
take him very long to win all the cruel man’s people. When the boy 
had won all the people, Shadow-of-the-Sun told the boy that he had won 
everything that he had at the present time, and that he wanted to stop. 
But the boy told him that he had to bet his life, as he himself had done, 
and that he would bet his own life against the man’s life, in one bet. 
Finally Shadow-of-the-Sun said that his rule in betting human beings 
was always to bet three bets. He also asked the boy if his life could be 
spared, and told him that if he would spare his life he could have the 
same powers that he had, and could be a great chief among his people. 
But the boy told him that he did not have any use for his powers, and 
that he did not have any people for him to be chief of. They com- 
menced to play again, and the boy won the first third of Shadow-of-the- 


YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF, WHO’ MARRIED A BUFFALO. — 199 


Sun’s body, then the second, then the third part of Shadow-of-the- 
Sun’s body. When he pitched the last stick he jumped out of the way, 
and when the stick entered the wheel there arose two great, big Buffalo. 
who set after Shadow-of-the-Sun and hooked him until they tore him 
in pieces. Wherever there was left a large piece of his body it would 
still run, and the Buffalo would take after it again. The boy then 
requested the people to gather wood to burn the body. While the people 
were getting the wood these Buffalo left the village and went toward 
the north. Then, when the people gathered enough wood, they piled 
it up and began to burn the body of Shadow-of-the-Sun. Half-a-Boy 
also had the people gather all the human bones that were lying around 
about the village, and these they threw into the fire. As soon as the 
fire began to die down, Half-a-Boy began to poke the fire, and one at 
a time, the men who had been killed by Shadow-of-the-Sun jumped out 
of the fire. When the fire went out there was a great crowd of men 
around there who were saved by this poor boy, Half-a-Boy. Before | 
burning Shadow-of-the-Sun’s body, Half-a-Boy told him that he would 
have less powers if he should ever live again. 

Half-a-Boy then ordered the people to go to their homes. The 
chief told the boy that he could be the head chief of his village. Half- 
a-Boy refused to become a chief. He told the people that he had done 
them some good, but that he could not any longer be with them, for 
he was going to the people who had saved his life. He told the people 
that they could see him when they found the Buffalo. Half-a-Boy 
then turned into a Blackbird and flew off toward the north, where the 
two Buffalo had gone. 


29. YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF, WHO MARRIED A BUFFALO.” 


Young-Boy-Chief (Waiksedia) lived in a large village which was 
divided into two parts; and each part was governed by a chief. The 
village extended east and west and there was a broad street or wide 
space which was the dividing line. In this street the young people 
played games. Young-Boy-Chief was the son of the chief of the north 
village. In the south village there was a chief who had a daughter. 
These two children, who belonged to chiefs’ families, had never seen 
one another and did not know one another, because they did not par- 
ticipate in the games with the others. The only thing that the boy 
could do was to watch the other boys play, and in this way Young- 
Boy-Chief passed all his time. The daughter of the other chief remained 


*Told by Man-who-harms-while-Jesting (Waco.) 


200 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


always at home, and did not go to see the others play. Whenever 
Young-Boy-Chief had a place to himself to take his early morning 
and evening bath, he allowed no other person to go to this place. Once 
upon a time, this young man began to think of the daughter of the 
other chief, and he wondered what she looked like. He thought that 
by watching the young women he might see her, and that perhaps he 
might come to know her. 

From another country came a young woman who took a notion 
to visit this village where the young man and young woman lived. 
This woman was Young-Buffalo-Woman (Tarnatskéhakia). When 
Young-Buffalo-Woman arrived at the village she turned into a young 
woman, and looked like any other young woman of the village, but 
still she was different from the women in this village. Before she 
entered the village she decided that she would get on the south side 
of the village and would perhaps stop with some people who lived 
near the outskirts of the village. She went on the east side of the two 
villages, and while on the way she found a piece of dry grass, similar 
to a white, soft feather. This she took along to use for some purpose, 
whenever she might need it. It was in the afternoon, when the young 
people were gathered around the play ground to play their games. 
Being new, and already famous, she had a stick to play the double- 
ball game with the other women. When she was on the way to the 
grounds she was overtaken by another woman, who asked her if she 
would join her and she told her that she would. The woman who 
asked her to join her found that she was dressed entirely different from 
any young woman she had ever known. Not only was she different in 
dress, but she was also tattooed on her face. This woman then thought 
that the other woman must be from some other place. They arrived 
at the grounds, and the woman who had come from a long way saw 
this Young-Boy-Chief sitting in front of his home. It was at this time 
that Young-Boy-Chief was on the lookout for the chief’s daughter 
from the opposite village, and when he saw this woman he thought from 
the way she was dressed that she was the chief’s daughter. The young 
woman dropped the piece of dry grass, and the wind, being from the 
south, began to roll it toward the young man. Several more of the 
young women from each side of the village began to come around to 
play, and this young woman looked strange to every one of the other 
women. She was asked toward which direction she wanted to play, 
east or west. So she said that she would for a while play toward the 
east. The double-ball game was commenced. ‘The woman attracted 
everybody’s attention, for she wore a finely painted buffalo robe. In 
the center of the robe was painted a fine design that no one had ever 


YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF, WHO MARRIED A BUFFALO. 201 


seen painted on a robe before. Soon the people found that she was 
always ahead of all the other women in the game, and that she played 
the game out before any one could catch up with her. While the game 
was going on among the young women, the young men played their 
shinny game, and other games, such as arrow games, etc. The dry 
grass that the young woman had turned loose had rolled up in between 
the legs of Young-Boy-Chief. Young-Boy-Chief would throw away 
the dry grass, but it would come around again and crawl up between 
his legs. Young-Boy-Chief was anxious to see the games end, so that 
he could see where this woman would go, so that he could follow her. 
But the dry grass kept crawling in between his legs, and he was 
worried about this. He took the dry grass and went into the lodge, 
where he lived, and placed it in the wall of the grass-lodge, over his 
bed, and then he lay down. He wished that this had not happened to 
him, for he was bothered by the dry grass, but he did not know this 
was connected with a plot of the woman to win his love. 

After Young-Boy-Chief went into the lodge, discouraged, the sun 
guing down, and the game ended, the woman went back by the way 
she had come, accompanied by the same woman who had come with 
her. She left this young woman where she had found her. She then 
went to the creek and took a bath. After her bath, she began to study 
where to go during her stay at the village. She went into the first tipi 
she came to, and there she was requested to be seated on the south side 
of the tipi. She noticed that there was but a man and a woman and 
child in there. She also noticed that they had no provisions, for they 
did not offer her anything to eat. She then told them that she wanted 
to stay with them for a while, and they told her that she could do so. 
It then happened that she went out to urinate, and she heard the man 
telling his wife that she was a stranger, and had come from a long way, 
perhaps, and that she was a famous woman. When the man had 
finished talking about her she went into the tipi again. Young-Buffalo- 
Woman asked the people if they wanted something to eat. They told 
her that they did, and she reached around with her right hand to her 
left side and brought out a kidney and a piece of corn bread. She told 
them to save the fat of it, and then she gave it to them to eat. They 
began to eat the kidney and bread. After getting enough they gave 
the fat to the woman again, and she put it back where she had taken 
the kidney from. She then reached around again, this time with her 
left hand to her right side, and took for herself the same things that 
she had given the others to eat. She began to eat, too, and when she 
had eaten all she wanted she put it back again, where she had taken 
her food from. 


202 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


About this time, Young-Boy-Chief began to examine every lodge 
in the village, looking for this young woman, for he could not keep — 
from going out to look for her. After having gone through the whole 
village, looking in the doors of every lodge, he thought the young 
woman had left the place. He thought that he would look into the 
last lodge, and see if he could find her. Young-Boy-Chief then peeped 
in, and there he saw this woman whom he was looking for. Young- 
Boy-Chief, without stopping, walked right in, and was asked why he 
had come, for he had never been seen around by night before. He told 
them that he had come around to see the woman who was living with 
them. He was then asked to be seated by the woman. Finally all 
retired, and Young-Boy-Chief and the young woman went to bed. 
They did not have a good bed to sleep on, but they had to get along the 
best they could. After they had gone to bed, Young-Boy-Chief asked 
the woman if she was not a chief’s daughter, and she told him that she 
was a chief’s daughter, from a strange country, and that she was just 
visiting the village. Young-Boy-Chief replied that he had made a 
mistake, and had taken her for the daughter of the chief of the south 
village. He said that he was going to live with her any way, and that 
night they began to live as man and wife. Early the next morning, 
before daylight, Young-Boy-Chief told his wife that he had to keep 
his marriage a secret, but whenever she had a child by him they could 
move to his home and live there all the time. Every day, during her 
stay in this village, she would go to play the double-ball game with the 
other women, and at this time every young man in the village was 
seeking her. But she would reject them all, for she already had a hus- 
band who was better than the other young men, for he belonged to a 
chief’s family. When night came, Young-Boy-Chief would go to the 
place where she was staying, and every time the women began to play 
their game Young-Boy-Chief would sit outside of his lodge and watch 
his wife play, for he knew that he had the best wife of all. So they 
lived together for a long while, until she became pregnant. As soon 
as she told Young-Boy-Chief this he ceased to come to see her at night. 
After a time the child was born. She still lived in this same lodge, and 
supplied the people with food, and waited patiently for her man to re- 
turn to see his child. The child got so that it could walk and talk. 
He began to ask who his father was, but his mother would not tell 
him who his father was, because she was waiting for him to come and 
see his child some time. But the child got so anxious to know who his 
father was that the woman undertook to go over to her husband’s 
home. 


YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF, WHO MARRIED A BUFFALO. 203 


When they arrived at Young-Boy-Chief’s home they entered the 
' grass-lodge, and there they saw a good many of the older men sitting 
around with Young-Boy-Chief. The men noticed that the child called 
him father. Young-Boy-Chief wanted to remain a boy, and so he 
called to the men to remove this woman and child. So they were 
thrust out of the place. The woman then took the child and packed 
him on her back. She started toward the north, whence she had come, 
and when they got out from the village they turned into what they 
were—Buffalo, the woman being a female and the child being a young 
Buffalo calf. 

Young-Boy-Chief then decided to go after them, but they were 
already a long way ahead of him. He kept on, thinking that he could 
catch up with them. Late that evening the child came to his father and 
told him that he would have to keep on, for the woman was not going 
to stop unless they had to stop for a night’s rest. Then the boy went 
on ahead of his father, and caught up with his mother. Late that day 
the woman stopped, to await her man. When they stopped, this woman 
got a kind of bush that the buffalo like to eat, and used it for fire- 
wood. She then asked her husband if he wanted something to eat. The 
man told her that he did want something to eat, for he had come from 
a long distance. He was given a piece of kidney and a piece of corn 
bread to eat, for his supper. He was then told what troubles he would 
have to endure when he arrived at the woman’s home; that he would 
have to meet his wife’s husbands; that she had four husbands, all of 
whom were brothers. She also told him that she had a sister, younger 
and prettier than herself, and that she was near; that she would try to 
get him and would offer herself to him for a wife, but he must not 
accept that offer, but keep it to himself; that upon their arrival he would 
see a large herd of Buffalo and that in the middle of the herd he would 
see dust flying, for her men knew of his marrying their wife; that on 
the morning after their first night he would be called to meet them 
all, for he was taking their wife away from them, and in order that he 
might keep this woman for himself he must be able to find his wife from 
the midst of all the female Buffalo; and again, if he should be able 
to tell his wife from the other female Buffalo, he would be required to 
find from among the male Buffalo his wife’s uncle; that every time they 
should ask him such a question all these would be lined up, and all of 
them would look alike; and if he should be able to determine which 
one of the four was his wife’s uncle, then the next thing that he would 
have to do would be to be able to tell them which one of the older 
Buffalo calves was his child. In so doing, when he should look for 


204 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


his wife, she was to have a piece of dry grass stuck up in her nose, so 
that he would be able to tell the difference between her and the others; 
that when ‘the came to find her uncle, the male Buffalo would be lined 
up, and he would have to start from one end of the line, and he would 
be able to distinguish him by a mark over his tail. In looking for his 
father-in-law he was to examine closely the heads of the males, and the 
one having a cockle burr under his ear was to be the one to be pointed 
out. He was then told that his sister-in-law would come around and 
try to persuade him not to mind his wife in going through so many cere- 
monies, telling him that he could marry her without doing so many 
things; that he must not listen to his wife, but attend to his own busi- 
ness, for if he did as his wife directed he would be killed anyhow for 
not going through these things. The next thing, when he should be 
asked to find among the old female Buffalo, his mother-in-law, he was 
told that upon making a close examination of their feet he would notice 
a large piece of dry mud between the claws of his mother-in-law’s 
right hind foot. When he should be asked to look through all the 
young calves, to find his child, he was to notice their eyes, for the 
young calf would cast his eyes to the right, without looking right at 
him, and in this way he would be able to tell his child from the other 
young calves. These were the instructions given him by his wife dur- 
ing the night when stopping for the first night’s rest. Early on the 
next morning he was again given something to eat, and then they 
started toward the north on their way to the woman’s home. Of course, 
the woman was to travel faster than the man could, because she and her 
child had become Buffalo, and thus they could travel faster than the 
man. But Young-Boy-Chief kept on traveling after he had fallen 
behind them. They traveled all that day, and about noon the boy was 
sent back to his father to ask him if he was hungry. He told his son 
that he was, and then the young calf caught up with his mother and 
told her that his father was hungry. The calf was given one kidney 
and a piece of corn bread for Young-Boy-Chief to eat. Then the 
young calf stopped and waited for his father to come along, and then 
he gave him the food and again went on. While the man was on the 
way he ate his dinner. He traveled the rest of the day, until late that 
evening, when they again stopped for the night for rest. This time, 
when they stopped, the woman used tall, rank mustard weed for the 
fire. Young-Boy-Chief was told that on the afternoon of the following 
day they would arrive at home; that his wife would go on and leave 
him, and the boy and he were to follow on; that the boy was to tell 
him where their home was, then to enter the place. The next day, 


YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF, WHO MARRIED A BUFFALO. 205 


after eating breakfast, they again began to travel, and at noon the 
young calf was asked to stay back until his father should come along, 
then ask him again whether he was hungry. The calf stayed back, 
awaiting his father. When his father came along he asked him if he 
was hungry. His father told him that he was, and then the calf went 
on to catch up with his mother, to tell her that his father was hungry, 
and when he caught up with his mother and told her that his father 
was hungry, he was given the same things for the man to eat as before. 
Then he waited until his father came along, then gave to him the food 
for him to eat. But he would not stay with his father, but continued 
on after his mother. Young-Boy-Chief then went on, and while on the 
way, he ate his dinner. After he had eaten all he had, there came in 
sight a high hill, and the woman went over it. Then he saw his son 
stop to wait for him to come along. He traveled until he came to the 
high hill. The boy then told him that his mother’s home was over the 
hill. As the looked at the summit of the hill he saw a great herd of 
Buffalo. After seeing the herd of Buffalo, without knowing what had 
happened tto ‘his eyes, this herd became a large village. In the middle 
of the village he saw a large tipi, and this the boy told him was his 
mother’s home. So they went to his wife’s lodge. On entering he saw 
his wife, her brothers, uncles, sisters, father, and mother. The woman 
was asked if that was her husband, and she said in reply that it was her 
man, and that he was a chief’s son. They began to ask Young-Boy- 
Chief if he would not have their sister for a wife instead of the woman 
he had, for there was going to be trouble between him and some other 
men who were brothers. But Young-Boy-Chief did not pay any atten- 
tion to this request, for he knew that he was coming out of these 
troubles without great difficulty. After Young-Boy-Chief had entered 
the lodge his father-in-law told him that he would be called early the 
next morning to the place where the four brothers were, for they were 
already informed of his arrival. On the following day and night he 
remained with his wife’s parents, and it seemed to him like living with 
any other human beings. 

On the next morning Young-Boy-Chief was notified that he was to 
go and meet his brothers and prove whether he could meet all their re- 
quirements. When he got to the place he saw great herds of female 
Buffalo, all of them about the same age. They were all lined up, and 
facing north. Young-Boy-Chief then began at the east end and looked 
for his wife. He was accompanied by the men, who were trying to cause 
him to make a mistake while trying to find his wife. They believed 
that on account of the great number of these female Buffalo that he 


206 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


could not fail to make a mistake in picking out his wife. As he went 
on he came to one he thought to be his wife. He called her out, and 
indeed it was his wife. Next, Young-Boy-Chief was asked to find his 
wife’s uncles from amongst all the middle-aged Buffalo, and this he 
did. Now, Young-Boy-Chief had to point out his father-in-law, and 
this he did. Then he was asked to pick out from the old female Buffalo 
his mother-in-law. This, too, he succeeded in doing. Now, the last 
thing he was to accomplish was to find his own child from among all 
the other young calves. Of course, all the young calves were alike, 
except for a slight difference in age. So Young-Boy-Chief went along 
at the calves’ heads, and examined them carefully, until he came to 
one that was casting its eyes to one side, and then he was able to point 
out his son. After Young-Boy-Chief had done all that was required 
of him, all the Buffalo began to move back to their homes. Thus 
Young-Boy-Chief ‘had more fun while among itthese families of Buffalo 
than while among his own people, and for some reason, the people 
here were better looking than those of his own village, especially were 
they dressed better, and their tattooing was better. So Young-Boy- 
Chief liked his new home better ithan his old one. After the had got 
used to these people he went among the female Buffalo the same as 
any of the Buffalo that were of his age. 

A long time after this, the chief of the Buffalo undertook to go 
and visit the other people, and to trade with them. Whenever the 
Buffalo went on this kind of a journey it meant that whenever the 
people should find the Buffalo these people would put on their best 
dress when they should go to killing off the Buffalo. After killing 
the Buffalo, sometimes the people used to take nothing but the meat, 
leaving the hide on it, which signified that the Buffalo were to live again, 
if only their flesh was taken. Andon the other hand, the best dresses 
that were worn by the people became the property of the Buffalo. The 
Buffalo made the visit to Young-Boy-Chief’s home, but Young-Boy- 
Chief caused it to be understood that since living with the Buffalo he 
had to do as the Buffalo did. So when the Buffalo made their appear- 
ance to the people they were killed. But when killed this Young- 
Boy-Chief knew that he was to live again, and that he was always to 
stay with his wife’s people. At this time he had a great many children 
by this Buffalo wife. So he always lived with the Buffalo after this, 
instead of going back to his people. Since this it has been known that 
whenever the Buffalo come to the people, their object in presenting 
themselves is to show their desire to trade. 


THE SWIFT-HAWKS AND SHADOW-OF-THE-SUN. 207 
30. THE SWIFT-HAWKS AND SHADOW-OF-THE-SUN.* 


Once upon a time there was a village which was divided by a street 
‘running through its center from north to south. Each part of the 
village was ruled over by a chief. The chief who ruled the west part of 
the village was a good man. The chief who ruled the east side was a 
bad man. One time a boy, who lived with his father, mother, and three 
younger brothers in another place, decided that he would make a visit 
to this village. He took all of his bows, arrows, and other weapons, 
and started on his journey. On the evening of the’fourth day after he 
had left this home, he came to the village. He stopped outside the 
village upon a high place, from where he could look down into the 
village. He noticed that the bad chief’s part of the village was more 
lively than the other part. After viewing it all, he started to go down. 
Before reaching the village he came to a person standing and facing 
him. He kindly asked this person where he might find a good place to 
sleep all night. The person told him to go to the highest tipi that he 
had seen; so he went on to the place, as he was told. 

On entering, he was requested to go to a bed in the west end of the 
tipi. In these times the people had tipis made out of buffalo hides, 
grass-lodges, and earth-lodges. ‘The boy was requested to pass on to 
the west end of the tipi, because the tipis generally faced toward the east, 
and at the entrance there were always two beds, one on the south side 
and the other on the north side, one or two more at the southwest part 
of the tipi, and-another at the northwest: When the boy entered, 
he passed on to the bed on the northwest side and sat down. This was 
the chief’s place, and the chief told the boy that it was a rather bad place 
for visitors. On making his appearance, the boy found that word had 
already been sent to the other chief. These two chiefs each had a 
servant. The chief said to the boy that he thought some one had 
already notified the other chief of his arrival. The boy was told that 
early the next morning he would be called to enter a foot-race. They 
finally went to bed and slept until the boy was called by the other chief 
to the foot-race. The chief himself was Shadow-of-the-Sun (Ihakaats- 
kada), and had a dark complexion. When the boy was called he and 
the other chief both went out to the nearest bathing place and took an 
early morning bath. Then they went on to the scene of the foot-race. 
Great crowds of people were present to watch the foot-race, and they 
saw that the young man was fine-looking. The young man and the chief 
came to the place where they were to start from. The foot-race began, 
both chiefs running first. Shadow-of-the-Sun outran the other chief. 


*Told by Ahahe (Waco.) 


208 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


Then the Coyote (Ketox), who was a racer, finally gave out, and then 
the young man raced. They then went for a long way, then disappeared, 
and then again they went for a long way, and finally came to a place 
where Shadow-of-the-Sun did his hardest racing, and here was a deep 
canyon. Shadow-of-the-Sun, of course, was used to this place, and 
when he came to it, passed it safely, but the young man could not pass it, 
and so was beaten. Shadow-of-the-Sun took his club and killed the 
young man. ‘The reason why one side of the village seemed to the 
young man to be more lively than the other was 'that whenever Shadow- 
of-the-Sun had won in a foot-race, and had killed his opponent, he 
would carry off a lot of the other chief’s people, and this would make 
the village more lively. Whenever there was a foot-race and Shadow- 
of-the-Sun came out the winner, the other chief would offer his life 
to Shadow-of-the-Sun for those of his people, but Shadow-of-the-Sun 
would refuse, and would say that if it had not been for him (the other 
chief) there would not have been any fun. Shadow-of-the-Sun won 
many foot-races, and killed many defeated opponents. 

Now, another of the four brothers put on all his weapons and set 
out to make a visit. He traveled four days. On arriving at the high 
point by the village of the two chiefs he looked all over the village, and 
it was late in the evening. He went down toward the village and met 
some one, asking him where he might find a place to stay all night, and 
he was told to go to the place where he had seen the highest tipi. He 
went to the place, and on entering, was requested to pass on to the 
bed at the northwest part of the tipi. While passing, the chief remem- 
bered the young man’s brother, and thought this must be the same man 
who had been killed, for the young man resembled his dead brother 
very much, though he was much younger. The chief told the young 
man the same thing that he had told visitors who came to his tipi; 
that there was danger at his place, and any one visiting him was not 
safe; for there was always.some one looking out for such men as he. 
The chief supposed that some one had already sent word to Shadow- 
of-the-Sun that some one was visiting him, and so after giving the 
young man his supper he told him what were the troubles he would 
have to meet. He said that he wished he himself might be killed, 
instead of having to see his visitors killed. Early the next morning 
the young man was called to a foot-race. He, the chief, and the Coyote, 
all started to the nearest bathing place for their early morning bath. 
Now, they all went north, in the direction they saw the people going. 
They finally reached the place where the foot-race generally started. 
The chief and Shadow-of-the-Sun raced first, then the Coyote, then the 


THE SWIFT-HAWKS AND SHADOW-OF-THE-SUN.. 209 


young man. After Shadow-of-the-Sun and the young man had run a 
long way the young man gave out a little, and slowed up a little to 
get breath. Then he made another dash to win, but failed to outrun 
Shadow-of-the-Sun. When they got to the deep canyon where Shadow- 
of-the-Sun generally did the hardest racing, the young man failed to 
pass it. Shadow-of-the-Sun killed the young man. In this way he 
killed many who came to visit their village. The other chief would 
offer his own life in place of the visitors, but Shadow-of-the-Sun would 
never accept it. He would say: “That is where I get all my fun. If 
it were not for you I would never get any fun.” Thus through his 
visitor’s losing of the race the other chief would lose many of his 
people. 

Another of the four brothers now started out to visit the village 
of the two chiefs, stopping at the same placés his brothers had stopped. 
Four days he traveled, and he came to the high point by the village of 
the two chiefs, where he stopped for a while, and saw all kinds of 
games played by the young men and the young women. Late in the 
evening he went down toward the village, and met somebody there. 
When he met the man he asked him to tell him where he might stop 
over night. He was requested to go to the highest tipi that he had seen. 
When he entered the tipi the chief thought that he was the identical 
person who had once been killed. The chief requested him to pass on 
to the bed in the northwest part of the tipi. ‘The young man sat down, 
noticing that the chief looked as though he felt sad, and he wondered 
what troubled him. The chief raised his head and said to the young 
man: “There is some one in the next village that always takes the 
life of my visitors, and you are in danger, for there is always some one 
spying around to carry back news of some visitor’s arrival to Shadow- 
of-the-Sun. To-morrow morning you will be called upon to run a foot- 
race.” He, the chief, and the Coyote, went to the water to take their 
early morning bath before the race; then they went on their way to 
the starting place: The foot-race began, the chief running first, and giv- 
ing out; then the Coyote; then the young man raced with Shadow-of- 
the Sun. They ran a way, then slowed up, and the young man came out 
behind. They ran again till they came to the deep canyon, and the 
young man could not go over it. So Shadow-of-the-Sun turned around 
and killed the young man with his club. When the chief arrived, 
knowing that he was to lose some of his people, he offered his life to 
Shadow-of-the-Sun, but he would not accept the offer. 

At the home of the four brothers there was now only one left, and 
this last one set out to look for his brothers: He traveled all day, and 


210 THE MYTHOLOGYOF AE WICHITA. 


at dark came to a place where there had been a fire, and grass fixed 
like a bed. He had come to the place where his other brothers had 
stopped for a night’s rest. He started again the next day, and traveled 
until night, when he came to another camping place. Every time he 
stopped he found traces of a camp. He traveled until he came to the 
place where strangers stopped. Here he stayed until later in the even- 
ing, then went down toward the village and met some one, and asked 
him where he might go for a night’s lodging, and was told to go to the 
highest tipi he had seen. On entering this place the chief told the young 
man to pass on to the bed in the northwest of the tipi. The chief 
always felt sad to see any one coming to visit him, knowing that they 
would have to be killed. The chief told the young man that his place 
was dangerous to visit, for there were some that always were ready to 
kill any one who visited him, and there was no way to escape, once hav- 
ing arrived at this place; that early in the morning he would be called 
to a race, for Shadow-of-the-Sun always had spies to bring him. news 
when there was a visitor present in the village. They went to bed, and 
early next morning the young man heard some hooting and yelling, and 
some one saying that he had heard of some one visiting, and that he was 
to come and have a foot-race before living in the village. The young 
man, the chief, and the Coyote went to the nearest bathing place and 
took their morning bath, then went to the foot-race. Shadow-of-the- 
Sun always started first to a certain place he had to start from. Crowds 
of men came and stood by to see the race. Shadow-of-the-Sun raced 
with the chief first, then with the Coyote, and finally with the young 
man. Shadow-of-the-Sun, in making the course, had fixed it over a 
deep canyon, so then it would be impossible for any one but himself to 
get over it. When it came the turn of the young man to race, they came 
to this place, and Shadow-of-the-Sun said to the young man: “This 
is the place where I always do my hardest racing.” When they came 
to the canyon the young man failed to get over it, and was beaten and 
killed by Shadow-of-the-Sun. The other chief offered his life to 
Shadow-of-the-Sun, but he refused it, and after the race, carried off a 
lot of the chief’s people. 

Now, the father of the four boys had it in mind to visit the village 
of the two chiefs. He said to his wife: “My boys may think they are 
old enough to do what I can do, but they certainly are mistaken.” Al- 
ready the old man knew what had happened to his boys; so before 
starting, he asked his wife to get him a shell. He then took some water 
and some white clay and colored the water, making it white. He 
commanded his wife to look at this once in a while during his absence, 


THE SWIFT-HAWKS AND SHADOW-OF-THE-SUN. 21 


and if the water in some part of the shell should turn into blood it 
would indicate that he was dead, and that she should leave the place; 
if it did not turn to blood, it would be a sign that he was still alive. 
He then set out, and traveled four days, just as his boys had traveled. 
At the end of the fourth day’s traveling he came to the village of the 
two chiefs, and stopped at the point where strangers always stopped. 
He waited here.until late in the evening, then went toward the village, 
and met a man whom he asked to direct him to the place where 
strangers generally stopped. He was told to go to the highest tipi he 
had seen, as there a chief was living. When he came to the place he 
entered, and was asked to pass on to the same place where visitors 
always were seated. The chief felt sad at seeing his visitor, for he 
knew that he would have to meet danger, and so he told the father that 
he would be called upon early next morning to run a foot-race. The 
man rested that night, looking for danger. Next morning the father 
was called by Shadow-of-the-Sun, who said that it had come to his 
mind that some one had arrived at the village. The father got up, and 
accompanied by the chief, and the Coyote, went to the creek for a bath 
before going to the race. The old man dived into the water, and when 
he came up, he had changed to a young man, and looked just exactly 
like the four young men who had been killed. They started to the 
scene of the foot-race. As soon as they got there the race began. The 
chief raced first, then the Coyote, and then the old man. The old man 
started the race with Shadow-of-the-Sun, getting on the right side of 
him, then on the left, and soon. He finally got up on his right shoulder, 
and the cruel chief saw that the man was giving hima close race. Then 
the man got down on the ground and climbed on Shadow-of-the-Sun’s 
left shoulder. As the chief saw the father he would run harder, ex- 
pecting to leave him behind. When they came to the place where 
Shadow-of-the-Sun always did his hardest racing he said to the old 
man: ‘This is the place where I do my best racing.’ The old man 
being on his shoulder, kicked him on the breast and in the back, and 
then went on and left him behind. 

During this race the old man had his bow and arrows with him, 
and when he had won the race with Shadow-of-the-Sun, he took his 
bow-string off his bow, taking it with his right hand and pulling it 
through his left hand four times, then hitting the cruel chief and 
killing him with the string. He then got the people to bring wood to 
burn up the body. They brought wood and piled it up on the ground 
and placed the body on the wood and burnt it. While the chief was 
burning, the old man called his boys to come out, for their tipi was 


212 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


burning. Finally, one at a time, they jumped out, until they were all 
out. Men after men were jumping out of the fire. These were the 
men whom Shadow-of-the-Sun had destroyed. After the burning was 
done they all went to the chief’s place and stayed one night before they 
went back home. Next day the old man and his boys disappeared from 
this place. They went back home to the old woman, who, not seeing 
any blood in the shell of water, expected her man to return to her alive. 
After they reached home the old man insisted that his family should 
leave the place, because the same thing that had happened might happen 
again. So they left the place, which now turned into a timbered 
country, and they flew around and became Swift-Hawks (Gusseios). 


31, THE SWIFT-HAWKS AND SHADOW-OE-THE-SUN.* 


Once upon a time there lived a man, his wife, and his three sons. 
The oldest son was named Small-Hawk (Garseyasikits) ; the name of 
the second was Striped-Tail-Hawk; and the name of the third was 
Tears-in-the-Eyes (Wetskidikheya), Swallow-Hawk, which name he 
bore because of the black streaks about his eyes. They, by themselves, 
lived away from the village. The oldest boy went to visit the north part 
of the village. He took with him his weapons—his shield, quiver with 
bow and arrows, and all the things that he could carry. Having 
traveled four long days he arrived at the edge of the village, late in 
the evening. He waited at a high point at the south of the village. 
He saw that many games were being played by the people living near 
the village, such as shinny, the double-ball game, etc. When he arrived 
he met a certain person of whom he asked where visitors were enter- 
tained. The person directed him to a certain place in the middle of 
the village, where a large tipi was to be seen, and there he would find 
accommodation, for the tipi was that of the chief. He went as directed. 
When he reached the tipi he entered. He was told to go to the bed on 
the northwest side. When he sat down on the bed he noticed that the 
chief was grieving. After he had sat a while the chief rested his head 
and commenced to talk to the boy. He said: ‘There is only one bad 
thing about this place. You will be called early in the morning, for 
in the south side of the village live evil-spirited people, and the chief 
of these people, whose name is Shadow-of-the-Sun (Ihakaatskada), 
will challenge you to a foot-race. As soon as you came in, perhaps, 


*Told. by Towakoni Jim (Towakoni), 


THE SWIFT-HAWKS AND’ SHADOW-OF-THE-SUN. 213 


some one from his village came to spy on you.” After telling him these 
things the young man was given something to eat. The men in the 
tipi sat up until about midnight, then retired to their homes. 

Early the next morning the chief of the village of the evil spirited 
men called the young man to a foot-race, with a loud voice, telling him 
that the had ‘heard of his arrival, and that no one ever came to the 
village without being challenged by him. It was the custom that after 
a person had been challenged by Shadow-of-the-Sun the one who avas 
challenged would always go to the nearest flowing water and take a 
bath, to prepare for the race. After the boy had gone down to the 
water, and had taken his bath, and was ready to go and race, the chief 
he was visiting was ready to go with him. The people from both sides 
of the village crowded around the ground when the young man and the 
chiefs arrived. They started to the west, away from the village. As 
they went along the young man saw that he was to have a close race, 
for he knew that Shadow-of-the-Sun was a fast runner. Finally they 
came to a place where the race was to commence. It was the custom 
of the chief to accompany, as far as he could go, the visitor in the race. 
Now began the race with Shadow-of-the-Sun. The boy raced with the 
chief until the chief gave out; then he began to race with Shadow-of- 
the-Sun. The boy’s custom when racing was, first to get on the right 
side of his opponent, then, after giving out on that side he would get 
on his left side, and so on. Then, should he be beaten, he was to for- 
feit his life. This is how Shadow-of-the-Sun overcame his victims. 
They were going very fast toward the village. When they were near 
the village the boy gave out. Then Shadow-of-the-Sun took his club 
and struck him on the head. Whenever the visited chief’s visitors lost 
a race this chief would lose some of his people, which he forfeited to 
Shadow-of-the-Sun. After the boy had been clubbed the good chief 
would offer his life to Shadow-of-the-Sun, because so many men had 
lost they lives through paying him a visit. But Shadow-of-the-Sun 
would refuse to take his life, saying it was through his visitors that 
he got all his fun. The trouble was always started by the evil spirited 
people. 

At the boy’s ‘home, his parents were wondering what had become 
of him, and no one but his father knew, and he was disposed to let his 
boys go wherever they pleased. So at another time the second boy 
resolved to go and look for his brother. He told his mother to prepare 
some corn meal for him, that he might have it to eat on his journey 
to the village where this brother had gone. Four days he journeyed, 
and on the evening of the fourth day he arrived at the edge of the 


214 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


village. He sat down at the same place where this brother had sat, 
watching the people playing their games and amusing themselves. 
After the sun had gone down he went toward the village. As he 
entered he saw a certain person of whom he inquired where visitors 
were accommodated. The person told him to go to the middle of the 
village, to the largest tipi, and there he would find the chief, who 
always received visitors. The boy went on toward the chief’s tipi. 
When he got there he entered. He saw a crowd of men about the 
chief’s place. He -was told to pass on to the bed on the northwest. As 
he passed on he noticed some things that looked familiar to him. He 
recognized that they had belonged to his brother. He hung his own 
things in the same place. He was told that Shadow-of-the-Sun might 
call for him the next morning to have a foot-race with him. The men 
in the tipi noticed that this young man looked just like the man who had 
recently visited him. They thought that he was the same man, but 
that he was much younger. Having been told these things the boy 
was given something to eat. He sat up a part of the night talking 
with some of the men who were visiting the chief. Finally all the 
men went to their homes. The boy now rested, for he had come a long 
way. ‘Che next morning when he woke he heard some one calling him 
to come to 'a race. He went to the flowing water, took his early morn- 
ing bath and went back to the chief’s tipi. The two chiefs went with 
him to the race course. When they got there they started off toward 
the west, and went about the same distance as the boy’s brother had 
gone, and there they started the race. The good chief started. When 
he gave out the young man continued the race. He was defeated, as 
his brother had been, having made a great effort four different times 
and having failed to win the race. Now his life was taken. When the 
good chief had arrived he saw that the evil-spirited people had carried 
off some of his people. So he felt sad that the young man had lost his 
life through paying him a visit. 

Again the parents of this boy at his home were wondering what 
had become of him, whether he was alive or dead. Soon after, the 
youngest of the three brothers decided to go out in search of his two 
brothers. He asked his mother to make him a pair of moccasins and 
prepare some corn meal to take with him. When these things were 
ready he set out. He journeyed four days, until he came to the village 
his brothers had visited. In the evening he sat down at the same place 
where his brothers had rested. He watched the people playing in the 
village. He asked a certain person, after the sun had gone down, 
where visitors were received. He was told to go to the middle of 


THE SWIFT-HAWKS AND SHADOW-OF-THE-SUN. 215 


the village, to the largest tipi that he should see. ‘There he went. 
When he reached the tipi he entered. He was told to go to the bed on 
the northwest side. When he sat down he noticed many men gathered 
around the chief's tipi. The chief commenced to tell him what he would 
have to do; that the next morning some one from the evil spirited men’s 
village would call out with a whoop for him to come to a foot-race. 
Now he was given something to eat. The chief’s visitors, having sat 
up talking until late at night, now left, and the boy went to bed. The 
next morning he heard some one shouting for him, telling him to come 
to the foot-race. He got up, went to the flowing water and took his 
early morning bath, then returned to the chief’s tipi. He then set out 
with the chiefs to tthe course. They went the same distance from the 
village as his brothers had gone with the chiefs. Now they started for 
the race. The good chief was beaten. Shadow-of-the-Sun was next to 
race with the boy. The boy would race a part of the way on the chief’s 
right side, and as soon as he saw that he was not gaining he would 
go on his left side, then on his right and again on his left. Finally 
he was beaten by Shadow-of-the-Sun, who then killed him. The good 
chief’s part of the village was again in trouble. ‘The visited chief 
grieved over the loss of his people, for some of his people were always 
killed when his visitor lost the race. Then the visited chief would beg 
the evil spirited chief to take his life instead, but he would say that it 
was better to save him, for he was always having visitors. | 

Now, at the boys’ home there was left the father and mother. The 
old man knew that something had happened to his children. He re- 
solved to go in search of his boys. He took a small wooden bowl in 
which he put water. He then colored the water with white clay. He 
told his wife to watch the bowl during his absence, and that if any- 
thing should happen to him, and the should be killed, she would see 
blood in the water, which would be a sign that he was dead, but if 
the water remained clear it would indicate that he was still alive. 
After doing this he had his wife make a pair of moccasins and pre- 
pare some corn meal to take along for his food. He started out. He 
traveled the entire day. Late in the evening he came to a fireplace. 
Here he knew each of his boys had stayed over night. He took his bow 
and arrow and shot toward the timber. He shot a deer for his food. 
Now he had some meat to eat. The next morning he started out again 
and traveled all day, until late in the evening, when he found another 
fireplace where each of his boys had stayed for a night’s rest. He knew 
his boys had stayed there over night. Again he took his bow and arrow 
and shot toward the timber and killed a deer. Now he had something 


216 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


to eat. The next morning he started out and traveled all day until 
late in the evening, when he again found a fireplace where each of 
his boys had stopped over night. He knew his boys had stayed here 
over night. He took his bow and arrow and shot toward the timber 
and killed another deer, which he had for his meat. On the fourth 
day he started again, and traveled all day until he arrived at a high hill 
at the edge of the village. Here visitors were always expected to stop 
before entering the village. He noticed the young folks playing all 
sorts of games in the village. Later on, he went down toward the 
village and noticed a certain man of whom he asked where visitors 
were accommodated. He was told to go to the middle of the village, 
to the highest tipi he could. see. There he went. When he found the 
place he entered the tipi, and was told to go to the northwest bed, which 
was for visitors. The chief saw that this was an old man that had come 
to visit him. He told him that there was one thing that always hap- 
pened to his visitors; that there was a certain man, Shadow-of-the-Sun, 
who was always watching for ‘his visitors, and that, perhaps, some one 
had already noticed ‘his arrival, so as to carry the news back to him. 
As he hung up his weapons the old man noticed the weapons and 
things of his boys hanging up beside his bed. Now, he began to think 
that there was danger in the village, and that his boys had probably 
been killed, but he always had considered that he had as great powers 
as anybody else. He was given something to eat. The rest of the 
night he sat up with the men talking about things of the past. After 
midnight all the visitors returned to their homes. The old man went 
to bed and to sleep, for he had traveled a long way from home. “On 
the next morning he was called to race. He went down to the flowing 
water, jumped in, and when he came out of the water he was changed 
to a young man, and he returned to the chief’s tipi. Now the chief 
went with him to the race course, and the old man and the two chiefs 
went the same distance from the village as the boys had gone, to start, 
but when they had reached the starting place the old man refused to 
start the race at this point, for he said he had never raced from a 
place so close to the village. It was the custom to go out a distance 
from the village and race back. Shadow-of-the-Sun gave a whoop, 
and said it would be the first time he had ever had a hard race. Again 
they went on, till they had doubled the distance, and the evil spirited 
chief said this was another starting place, but the old man refused to 
stop. Shadow-of-the-Sun gave another whoop, and said he was going 
to have a hard race. Again they went a distance equal to the last, 
where Shadow-of-the-Sun said there was another starting place, but 
the old man refused to stop. Shadow-of-the-Sun gave a whoop and 


THE SWIFT-HAWKS AND SHADOW-OF-THE-SUN. eS 


they went on, measuring off a fourth equal distance. Here they started 
the race. The visited chief started the first part of the race. He fell 
behind. Then the old man commenced to race with Shadow-of-the- 
Sun. As they went along Shadow-of-the-Sun saw that he was. having 
a pretty close race, for the old man was with him all the way down, 
until the old man slacked up and went on his left. Again they had an- 
other race, and they were even all the time. Now the old man went 
around the chief again on his right side. Then he went back to his 
left. At the fifth time the old man turned into a Swift-Hawk (Gus- 
seios), and lighted on the back of Shadow-of-the-Sun’s shoulder. The 
chief would now turn his head to see where the old man was, but he was 
even with him all the time, but the old man said: ‘‘Go on! Go on! 
You thave been looking for a hard race.” He kept patting the chief 
on the back. Finally they saw the village. Shadow-of-the-Sun was 
still doing the racing, not knowing that the old man was on his shoulder. 
Before entering the village the old man kicked the chief on the breast, 
so that the old man entered the village first. Thus Shadow-of-the-Sun 
lost the race. The old man rested. Shadow-of-the-Sun came up to 
him and begged him to spare his life. He offered the old man his 
powers, but the old man refused to have any such powers as he had, 
for he knew that ‘he was the man that had killed off his boys. He knew 
that many people had lost their lives by him. Finally the good chief 
arrived, and he was happy, for the old man had won the race. He 
knew that Shadow-of-the-Sun would have to die, and with him all of 
his people. The old man then rested for a long time, but Shadow-of- 
the-Sun kept begging him to spare his life. The old man refused, 
and everybody thought he ought to refuse, on account of the way 
Shadow-of-the-Sun had treated every one. Since he could not get 
anything out of the old man he went up into the sky, saying to the old 
man: “If you are going to kill me I shall go somewhere else, where 
I shall be safe.””’ As he started to go up in the sky, the people thought 
the old man should hasten to kill Shadow-of-the-Sun. Finally, the old 
man got up on his feet, and asked the people where Shadow-of-the- 
Sun stayed when he went up in the sky. The place was shown him 
wherein he stood. Now his bow and arrows were brought to him. He 
shot up toward the sky and told the people to watch for results. So 
they watched for Shadow-of-the-Sun to come down. Finally they saw 
something coming down in the shape of a shadow. It came down and 
fell to the ground. The old man ‘had shot him behind. 

Now, the old man commanded all the good chief’s people to bring 
all the wood they could find, and all the human bones they could find, 
skulls and small bones. When they had done this they placed the body 


218 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


of Shadow-of-the-Sun on the pile of wood with all the other bones. 
When they had placed all the bones upon the wood they started the 
fire. When the wood began to burn and to settle down, they stirred it 
up to make it burn better. Now, they called those who had been killed 
by Shadow-of-the-Sun, and as they called them they jumped out of the 
fire, one after another. When the fire went down, there was a lot of 
men. After this was done the old man returned to the chief’s place, 
having destroyed the evil spirited people. 

On the next day the people in the village were called together at 
the chief's place. When they had gathered around his place they 
asked the chief why he had called them there. The old chief told of 
the good things the old man had done for them; what hard times 
they had had while living with the evil spirited people, and said they 
had better not exist any longer as human beings, for they had had 
hard enough times; that by and by, by turning to other beings they 
might enjoy better times; that those who wished to live as human 
beings could do so. Afiter this was announced the people began to 
return to their places, some going out and flying away from the vil- 
lage, some going into the timber and some into the prairies. The good 
chief became an Eagle (Kos). 

After the people had moved away the old father took his boys 
back home. While they were gone the woman had known that the old 
man was still alive, for she had seen no sign of any blood, the sign for 
death, in the bowl of white mixture. So they lived for a good while. 
The old man thought perhaps some other evil things might befall 
him, the same as had happened to his boys. He thought they had better 
become something else, so they turned into Swift-Hawks (Gusseios). 


32. YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF AND HIS SISTER.* 


Young-Boy-Chief (‘Waiksedia) and his sister were living by 
themselves, and they had a dog which they called Little-Dog (Kiithar). 
Young-Boy-Chief was a great hunter. He hunted deer mostly. He 
had a bow and four arrows. ‘Two of the arrows were painted red, 
and the other two were painted black. These weapons he used for 
hunting. They had plenty of dried and fresh meats. Once on a time, 
early in the morning, as Young-Boy-Chief’s sister went to a creek, 
near by their place, to bring water, she saw a Deer sitting down. She 
turned toward their place and called Young-Boy-Chief to come out 
and shoot the Deer, but Young-Boy-Chief did not come. She called 


*Told by Careful-Doer (Woman) (Wichita). 


YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF AND HIS SISTER. 219 


him four times before he came, and while he was getting ready she 
went to one side, got water and took it to their home. When Young- 
Boy-Chief went he shot at the Deer, but his arrow came off and broke 
to pieces. He shot again, and again, and again, until he had used up 
all his arrows, and all his arrows were broken to pieces. Then the Deer 
raised itself, and Young-Boy-Chief stood right still, not moving a step. 
So the Deer tossed him upon its antlers and carried him off. This was 
the beginning of Young-Boy-Chief’s troubles. This deer was Big- 
Hail-Deer (Taahaitschidl). 

After Big-Hail-Deer had carried off Young-Boy-Chief, Young- 
Boy-Chief’s sister came to where Big-Hail-Deer had been, to find out 
why her brother had not come home. When she arrived at the place, 
she saw the broken arrows, gathered them up, and carried them home. 
After a long while she resolved to look for her brother. She and Lit- 
tle-Dog were alone at home. She mourned for her brother when she 
came to find out that it was Big-Hail-Deer that had been shot at by 
Young-Boy-Chief, and that he had carried him off. She resolved 
finally to go and look for her brother. She commenced to grind some 
parched corn into meal, enough to last until her return. As she started, 
she told Little-Dog to remain at home, saying perhaps she would be 
‘gone for a good while, but that she might return in a little while. 
She also told him to get lots of meat for her to eat. She left her gourd 
full of water for Little-Dog to drink when he should get thirsty. Thus 
she got ready to look for her brother. 

While on the journey she would sing, then weep, and these were 
the words of her song: 


Ki-di-wa-a-ta-ka-ki-da-e-da-ka 
Ki-di-wa-a-ta-ka-ki-da-e-da-ka 
Si-sa-aits-te-e-da-ta-ti-a-kak-wi-duk 
Si-sa-aits-te-e-da-ta-ti-a-kak-wi-duk 
A-quava-ta-haits-si-a-ki-a-kia. 








lit was my mistake in the first place! 

It was my mistake in tthe first place, 
to call the boy to shoot the deer. 

It was not the Deer; it was the Elk. 


220 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


As she continued her journey she would sing again, then weep. 

Finally she came to a place where some one was standing on top 
of a hill. When the person saw her he commenced to talk to her, using 
cross language to her and making as if he were going to keep her from 
passing the place. He said that he did not allow any one to come around 
his place. On her arrival where this man was she poured out some 
corn meal that she had brought along with her. When she had given 
him this, the man commenced to tell her about her brother’s being taken 
by there some time before; that it was certainly a dangerous animal that 
had him;. that he did not know for a certainty whether Young-Boy- 
Chief was still alive or not, but by going to the next place she would 
find another man who had still greater powers than he had. This first 
man that she had met was the Mountain-Lion (Wokis), a heavy set 
man, looking pretty strong. 

She continued her journey, for she was told to make haste about 
getting to this place. Of course, like other women of those times, she 
had a double-ball and a stick to travel on. She traveled with this 
double-ball and stick, and would once in a while sing, then weep, using 
the same words as before. She finally came to another man standing 
on the top of a hill. When ‘he saw the woman coming he did as the 
first man she had met did, using abusive language to her, but she kept 
going, and instead of looking at him she kept her head down. When 
she went near tto him the tried to force ‘her to turn back, but she had 
thade up her mind not to be afraid of anything while she was on the 
way in search of her brother. When she came to this man she again 
poured out some of her meal. The man finally spoke to her in the 
most kind words a man could use, saying: “Oh, this is the woman that 
is in search of her brother.” He told ‘ther that her brother had been 
carried there when first attacked; that she must remember that this 
animal that had her brother was dangerous to attack. He then told her 
to go on to the next man for further information, for the next man ‘had 
greater powers than he had. This man was Headless-Man (Chearp- 
peschaux). 3 ; 

She continued her journey, doing the same thing she had done 
before, using her double-ball and the stick to travel on, ‘and once in 
a while singing the song she had sung before, then weeping. Draw- 
ing near to the next man, she saw that he was like the other men she 
had met. He did not allow any one to come where he was, and tried 
to force her to turn back, but she was brave and kept her head down, 
instead of looking at him, and when she got near to him she poured 
out some meal for him. The man became good-humored and asked 
her if she was the woman in search of her brother. The woman said 


YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF AND HIS SISTER. Pe | 


that she was. The man told her that he heard her brother sing when he 
was first attacked, but they hardly ever heard him since, so that he must 
be nearly dead, for Big-Hail-Deer had hardly ever thad time to stop, 
unless it was for water. This man that she was talking to was Bear- 
having-great-Powers (Widadadiakisda). He told her to go to the next 
man, who had greater powers than he had, and she would get aid from 
him ; that on reaching his place she would see a little boy playing around 
outside ; that she must take the boy and pack him on her back, then walk 
in; that this was the child the father thought most of; that in doing this 
she must beg the old man to help her get her brother away from Big- 
Hail-Deer ; that this man would not agree to get her brother for her 
for a good while, but she must keep telling him to do it for her until 
he began to help her; and she must give the corn meal to this child. 

She again started on her way, doing the same as usual, singing, 
then weeping, and using the double-ball and stick to travel with. She 
came to a small hill, where this man lived in a sort of dug-out, and 
there she saw a little boy standing outside, playing. She went right 
straight to where the child was, took him in her arms, then put him on 
her back, and walked into the lodge that was under the hill. Without 
saying a word she sat down by the fireplace, then put the young child 
on her lap and gave the child the corn meal she had. Then she told 
the old man, whose name was Old-Scabby-Bull, that she wanted to get 
aid from him to recover her brother, Young-Boy-Chief; but the old 
~ man would not say a word to the woman. She kept on asking him to 
do this for her, until he agreed to doit. He told her that it was a hard 
matter to attack Big-Hail-Deer; that when they should attack it she 
must not weep at sight of her brother, though he was a sad spectacle; 
that if she should weep both himself and she would have to die. The 
attack was put off until the next day. He told her that she would hear 
the noise when Big-Hail-Deer should come. 

That day Big-Hail-Deer came, and she saw him with her own 
eyes, and heard him coming. When he came there was something like 
a fire or a storm, and she heard her brother singing : 


“Jia-a-he-schats-as-ta-ki-di-a. 
Ja-a-he-schats-as-ta-ki-di-a. 
Tcas-ta-ki-tsi-d’-waika-i-ta-ti-a. 
Na-ki-di-wa, Na-ki-di-wa.” 


The Elk is carrying me on his antlers. 
The Elk is carrying me on his antlers. 
I am still living. 
I am still living. 


222 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA: 


Then he moaned, for he was nearly dead, not having had anything 
to eat since he had been captured. He was getting poorer every day. 
Having put off the attack till the next day, the old man had made a 
small bow and one arrow. The woman stayed all night at his place, 
and she did all the work that had to be done, for she was anxious to 
get aid from the old man. Early the next day the old man told her 
to go with him and meet Big-Hail-Deer. They started. The old man 
told the woman to get the best hiding place she could find, and that 
she must keep herself hid there; that he himself was going to find a 
hiding place. So the old man now turned himself into a Snowbird 
(Natchkiwisdal), having the bow and small arrow with him. Finally, 
Big-Hail-Deer came. The wind began to blow while he was running, 
and when he came near he began to slow up, as if he had found out 
something. As Big-Hail-Deer approached, the old man hid himself be- 
hind a small bunch of grass, which was near the road. While passing, 
the old man shot him between the fork of the front feet, and down went 
Big-Hail-Deer. They at once jumped up, and the old man took his 
bow-string from off his bow and, passing it through his left hand four 
times, clubbed Big-Hail-Deer with it. The old man then helped Young- 
Boy-Chief off his antlers, and at once commenced to get wood to pile 
up over Big-Hail-Deer. He set it on fire and left it burning. Just as 
soon as they had left they could hear something exploding, making a 
noise like thunder, but they continued to this man’s home. When they 
came to a creek the old man made Young-Boy-Chief dive in the water, 
then called him four times, saying: ‘‘Young-Boy-Chief, come out of 
the water! Your sister is here after you.” Young-Boy-Chief finally 
came out of the water, and they saw him with his four arrows and 
bow. They went on to the man’s home, and when they arrived Young- 
Boy-Chief remained with the people for a while. Young-Boy-Chief 
began to hunt for the people until they were furnished with much meat. 
Then the old man told him and his sister that they could go on to their 
home, for he had received all the meat he wanted from Young-Boy- 
Chief in return for the kindness he had done the woman. 

On their return they traveled fast, the young woman using the 
double-ball and the stick to travel on, and Young-Boy-Chief using this 
arrows to travel with. They passed the other men that the woman 
had passed before, saying to them that she had recovered her brother. 
Now they came to a group of Turkeys (Naa), that were dancing and 
laughing. Young-Boy-Chief asked them what was making them so 
happy. The turkeys said they were happy to know that their enemy, 
Young-Boy-Chief, was dead. Young-Boy-Chief took a handful of 


YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF AND HIS SISTER. 223 


ashes and threw them on their heads, and made their heads the color 
of ashes, commanding that they should always be that way. He told 
them that he himself was Young-Boy-Chief. Again they started on 
their way to their home, and they finally came to a woman up in a tree 
crying. Young-Boy-Chief asked the woman what she was crying 
about. She said that when Young-Boy-Chief was living she had had 
all she wanted to eat. Young-Boy-Chief replied to her, saying he 
was Young-Boy-Chief. He commanded the tree to bear fruit (wild 
grapes). This woman was Red-Bird (Itschidisaskatsa)._ As they com- 
menced to journey again they traveled as fast as usual, until they came 
to a bunch of Deer. Young-Boy-Chief asked the Deer what was mak- 
ing them so happy. They answered that they were glad to hear of 
Young-Boy-Chief’s death. Young-Boy-Chief made every one of them 
stand still, and he pulled their ears out long, then scared them and made 
their eyes open wide. He then commanded that they should always 
be that way, and in the next generation they were always to be killed for 
meat. Then again they journeyed. Finally they ran across another 
man by a tree. They noticed this man was weeping. Young-Boy- 
Chief asked why he was weeping. He replied that he could not help 
but weep, for Young-Boy-Chief had died; that when Young-Boy- 
Chief was living he could get all he wanted to eat. Young-Boy-Chief 
told this man he had been rescued, and was again living, and was on 
the way to his home. Then the man, wiping his tears away, walked up 
toward Young-Boy-Chief and hugged him, for he was the man who 
had always supplied him with food. Young-Boy-Chief commanded 
the tree to bear fruit, and there was the tree bearing fruit (persim- 
mons). This man was the Opossum (Kadaiok). The Opossum then 
climbed the tree and had all he wanted to eat. Again they journeyed 
until they reached home. The weeds had grown up around their place. 
When they entered their grass-lodge they saw no sign of Little-Dog. 
Little-Dog had starved to death, and all there was left of him was a 
pile of hair. This young woman took the hair and bones, went to the 
creek, and threw them in the water. Then she called Little-Dog, saying 
she had brought their brother home; that he should come out of the 
water. So Little-Dog came out of the water, happy as he could be. 
They, of course, had plenty of meat. Little-Dog had never eaten any 
meat nor drank any water. Young-Boy-Chief and his sister lived in 
their home together again. Young-Boy-Chief hunted the same as he 
used to do, and they had all the meat they wanted. Young-Boy-Chief 
now told his sister, that since he had had so much trouble, and she had 
had a hard time to get him, and since ‘he feared something else would 


224 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


occur to him, he wanted to be something else. ‘They told Little-Dog 
to remain at home, and that in the next generation he (Little-Dog) 
would still exist among people as he was when living with them. So 
they got a gourd full of water, poured it into the fire, and went up 
with the smoke in the air, and became Eagles (Kos). Their dwelling 
place turned into grapevines and trees. | 


33. THE STORY OF NOT-KNOW-WHO-YOU-ARE.* 


Once upon a time there was a large village, and in this village 
there lived a man by the name of Not-know-who-you-are (Kakiaasa- 
dad). The people in this village were very fond of sending out war- 
parties. Their occupation was to go out on the war-path at all times. 
When these people would come ‘home from the war-path they would 
bring home many scalps and captives. At night the celebration would 
begin, there being victory and scalp dances. Once upon a time, when the 
dances had begun and it was about midnight, Not-know-who-you-are, 
instead of hearing the noise of dancing, heard crying. He wondered 
what had happened to the people. The next time they went out on the 
war-path, after they had been out a long time, they came back victori- 
ous, with many scalps and captives. They were to have their fun in 
dancing scalp dances and victory dances, but at about midnight, Not- 
know-who-you-are instead of hearing the noise of dancing, heard cry- 
ing. He wondered what could be the matter. He learned that after 
having gone to dancing somebody was carried off by some kind of 
an animal. He wondered what it could be that was carrying off the 
people. He thought to himself: ‘Well, I have great powers, and 
perhaps if I send out a war-party, when I come home and get up a 
dance and watch pretty close, I can kill the animal.” 

On the next day, Not-know-who-you-are got up a war-party and 
went out on the war-path. They killed many people and took many 
scalps. When they got home they had dances, because he was in the 
crowd when they came home from the war-path. While he danced he 
kept watching for the strange being, but could see nothing. All at 
once he heard the people crying again, saying that somebody was 
carried off. He did not understand about this. He thought to him- 
self: “He has tricked me as he has other leaders, but by moving to 
another village I can do better.”’ He got together his parents (he was 
a single man) and his sister, and they moved into another village. The 


*Told by Ahahe (Waco). 


THE STORY OF NOT-KNOW-W HO-YOU-ARE. 225 


first thing he did he got up a war-party to go on the war-path. After 
he had been gone for a while he came back the same as usual, with 
plenty of scalps, expecting to have a celebration over them. In this 
way he showed the people who he was. The people had their dance, 
and they knew nothing of what took place in the other village when 
they had their dances.. About midnight, as the people were dancing, 
they heard some one who was being carried off, screaming. Not- 
know-who-you-are thought he would go and look for the being. 

Once upon a time he went out and cut two long poles. He peeled 
the bark from them and marked them with a burnt stick, which he 
burned around them. Thus he marked the poles up toward the top. 
He stuck them up by his place. He, himself, was a fine-looking man, 
and being single the women in the village wished that they could have 
him for a husband. After doing this, he made up his mind to go and 
look for the strange being; that after killing it he would cut off its 
front feet and tie them on the ends of the poles which he was to set up 
in front of his place. Before doing this, however, he would have a 
guessing contest. Now, he told the people to tell the women that she 
who would guess correctly what the poles were for, and why he had 
come to the village, should become his wife. The women gathered 
around his place. Many young women were there awaiting their turn 
to guess, but most of ‘them failed. 

On the south side of the village lived a family called Horned-Owls 
(Nikitetswakasa). In this family were father and mother and four 
girls. In the morning the three oldest girls went out to make their 
guess, but persuaded their young sister to remain at home, for they 
told her they were sure she would be unable to guess correctly. The 
youngest girl remained at home. She was very ugly, and this was one 
reason the girls did not want her to guess, for, they said, such an ugly 
girl could not make a guess, and if she should guess aright the man 
would not have her. When the girls had started out, their father asked 
the youngest one if she wanted to go and make a guess. The girl 
said she would. The father then told her to say: “When Not-know- 
who-you-are lived at his former village his people went out on the war- 
path and returned home with scalps and captives, and would have their 
scalp dances and victory dances, but instead of having singing and 
dancing all night, they would be interrupted by some wild animal that 
would carry off the people; that Not-know-who-you-are had made up 
his mind to send out a war-party, so that perhaps he might find a 
way to protect the people from being carried off during dances; that 


2260 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


‘when he had gone out on the war-path and had returned with scalps 
and captives, he had it in mind during the dance that followed, to 
watch for the wild animal and protect his people, but as the dance was 
going on some one was carried away; that he had made up his mind to 
move into this village where he was, that he might send out a war- 
party and somehow protect the people from being carried off; that he 
thought this thing should never occur again, but on his return from 
the war-path, bringing scalps and captives, and the dance beginning 
on the night after his arrival, he was present in the dance and some one 
was carried off again, the same as in the former village; that he had 
made up his mind that he would go and look for the wild animal; that 
he had cut the two poles, marked them with a burnt stick, and was going 
to make the women and beast guess, when he should capture it, what 
the poles were for; that the woman who should guess correctly should 
have him for her husband; that if the beast should fail to guess aright 
he would kill it, cut off its front feet and hang them at the top of the 
poles.” The girl then went to the guessing place. When her sisters saw 
her coming they attempted to keep her away, for they were sure she 
could not guess what the poles were for. But the girl went into the 
crowd and waited her turn. The three girls failed to guess aright. 
They then tried to coax their sister to return home with them. Finally, 
the girl’s turn came. As she went up to the guessing place she found 
Not-know-who-you-are lying on his bed. She called the man’s name, 
Not-know-who-you-are, and said: “As you are here and have put up 
your poles before the women that they may make their guesses as to 
the meaning of the poles, and as the one who shall guess correctly 
their meaning shall become your wife, I have come to guess. The 
marks on these poles have nothing to do with the poles. When you 
were in your former village the people sent out war-parties that re- 
turned home with scalps and captives; they had dances late at night, 
and while they were singing and dancing they were interrupted by 
crying, for some animal carried some one off. Finally, you thought by 
going on the war-path yourself and returning with scalps and captives 
and having dances, you might do better than the others had done, but 
when you had your dances the animal carried a person off the same 
as before. You then thought that you might find out about the animal 
by moving to this village. You moved to this village,.sent out a war- 
party, which returned with many scalps and captives; had scalp dances 
and victory dances; but while the dances were going on late at night 
your dancing was interrupted the same as before. You then deter- 
mined to follow up the tracks of the beast. You cut two poles, marked 


THE STORY OF NOT-KNOW-WHO-YOU-ARE. 227 


them at the end with a burnt stick. You decided to have the beast 
guess the meaning of the poles and the black marks. You thought that 
after the animal had failed to guess aright you would kill him and cut 
off his feet and tie them to the upper end of the poles.” While the girl 
was telling this, everybody’s attention was attracted, for they thought 
that perhaps the girl was making a correct guess. After this guess, 
Not-know-who-you-are arose from his bed and told the people to 
“move away, for there was the one woman that guessed aright about the 
poles. The crowds of people began to move to their homes, and the 
three sisters of the girl who had guessed correctly began to make fun 
of the girl, for she was so very ugly, and many good-looking girls had 
failed to guess correctly. After the people were all gone the girl was 
taken into Not-know-who-you-are’s lodge. When darkness came they 
went to the creek and the girl was told to jump in the creek. When 
she came out of the water she was changed to a good-looking girl. 
Now, Not-know-who-you-are went out to trail the beast. As he went 
out he found the trail of the beast, but it seemed to him that the tracks 
were pretty old. He followed them up for many days, until he came to 
fresh tracks. As he went along he kept himself well hidden, in erder 
that the animal might not see him first. When the tracks became fresh 
he saw on the ground and in the grass where the animal’s tail had 
passed, and the ground and the grass had been burnt by it. Finally, 
as he was going up the hill he crept close to the ground to prevent the 
animal from seeing him first. He finally came to tthe animal when it 
was not expecting any one. Not-know-who-you-are showed himself to 
the animal. When it saw him it came to him, angry as it could be. 
Not-know-who-you-are told the animal to make a guess as to what the 
poles were for. But the animal said: “I do not care anything about 
the poles, but I know what you have come here for. You are looking 
for me, that you may kill me. While you were in your former village 
and the people sent out war-parties which returned with scalps and cap- 
tives and had their dances at night, and while the dances were going 
on, you heard some one crying, instead of dancing and singing, and 
you wanted to know what could have happened. After you had heard 
why the people cried you thought that if you would go on the war- 
path, on your return you could protect your people from me, but when 
you had your dances and expected the people to have a good time and 
continue your dances all night, I interrupted the dances at midnight, 
and carried off one of your people. You decided that you would move 
from your former village into the village you are now living in. You 
thought that by sending out a war-party you could, on your return, look 


228 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


out for your people better than you did when I first carried off some 
of your people. Since you did this you sent out a war-party and re- 
turned victorious, with scalps and captives; then had scalp dances and 
victory dances, and then I interrupted you again by carrying off some 
of your number.” The animal, now thinking he had guessed correctly, 
said: “I am now going to kill you.” Not-know-who-you-are then told 
the animal that he had not guessed correctly about the poles, and he 
said: “You must make the guess as to the poles, then you can kill” 
me; but if you do not guess rightly about them I will kill you.” The 
animal said the poles had nothing to do with Not-know-who-you-are’s 
intention. ‘The animal said to Not-know-who-you-are that nothing 
more should be required, as he had heard all the answers that were 
demanded. Not-know-who-you-are said: ‘““Allow me to tell you what 
the poles are for.” The animal permitted. When Not-know-who-you- 
are told the meaning of the poles the animal drew back, and said: 
“T forgot about that.’ When the animal had failed to answer all, 
Not-know-who-you-are took his bow-string from his bow and used the 
string to kill the animal with. He then cut off the hoofs of the animal 
and put them on the poles as he had intended. The name of the animal 
was Mountain-Lion (Woxis), or Spike-Tail. Not-know-who-you-are 
returned home. 

Before leaving his home, Not-know-who-you-are ‘had told his wife 
to watch in the west for him and the sticks, and if she should see the 
sticks showing up with the hoofs on the ends of them it would indicate 
that he had killed the beast. When he returned home he held the poles 
in both hands up in front of him. For many days he traveled, until 
he came to a place just over the hill from his village. The sticks were 
seen by the people, and they saw the hoofs on the ends of them. They 
thought that Not-know-who-you-are had killed the beast. 

When Not-know-who-you-are arrived home he stuck the poles up 
by his lodge and told this people to gather around his lodge and have a 
big dance; that he thought no other misfortune could befall the people, 
for he had killed the beast that had carried off their people. The 
people at once began to dance, and continued to dance night after night, 
and everything went on well after that. 

‘War-parties were now sent out, and when the people returned 
victorious, bringing many scalps and captives, they would continue their 
dances by night, having good times, without interruption. This is the 
way Not-know-who-you-are delivered tthe people from their troubles. 
The people in the village remained without further molestation. 


EARLY-MORNING-DEER-SLAYER. 229 
34. EARLY-MORNING-DEER-SLAYER, WHO OVERCAME THE ELK.* 


At one time there were five villages all in a line towards the west, 
and in the last of these villages, toward the east, there lived with his 
mother and sister a chief ‘by the name of EFarly-Morning-Deer-Slayer. 
He was what we know as Mountain-Lion (Woxis). He was a great 
warrior and hunter and killed all kinds of game, especially deer. He 
‘also had great powers and was a famous man. He was liked by every- 
body in his village, and parties of men visited him to talk about things 
that happened in those days. During the daytime he went out killing 
game; and once in a while he went out on an expedition against 
enemies, and on his return to the village people would gather around 
his place with all kinds of victory songs and would rejoice over his 
heroic acts. One time he found out that something was going to take 
his life. This troubled him so that he stayed in bed all the time, and 
when men came to spend a part of the night with him he would not 
get up. This caused great excitement among his people, and they won- 
dered why he was acting this way. Every night men would visit his 
place, but they would have to spend their time with his father, then 
retire without seeing Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer, so that they ceased 
to come. His sister asked him the reason for his actions. In reply he 
said that it had come to his mind that some one was going to carry him 
off and kill him. 

One day, in one of the villages toward the west, was seen a power- 
ful animal going toward the east. The animal entered one of the vil- 
lages, and the people shot at ‘him with arrows. After hitting this 
animal, the arrows dropped off, and the animal went on to the next 
place. The people shot at the animal with their arrows as the people 
did in the first village, but the animal went through without being ‘hurt. 
The animal went on to the third village without being hurt, then on to 
the fourth village, passing unharmed, until he was seen entering at the 
last village. At this time, Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer got up and took 
his bow and arrows. He always had four arrows, two painted red, and 
the other two painted black. He went out and met his enemy, and shot 
him with one of his black arrows. Failing to send his arrow through 
the animal, he took the other black one, but this one also failed to harm 
the animal. He then used the red painted arrows, but these too failed 
to injure the animal. This animal was an Elk, and was above all the 
deers. Because Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer was a great hand to kill 
game, such as deer, he was attacked by this animal. After losing his 


*Told by Ahahe (Waco), 


230 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


last arrow, Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer still had his bow. ‘The animal 
dropped this head toward Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer, put him on his 
horns and turned back to where he came from. 

In going through the next village, there was a certain man who 
asked that he might go along, to see the last days of Karly-Morning- 
Deer-Slayer. So he followed the animal that was carrying Early- 
Morning-Deer-Slayer. In going through the next village, the people 
saw that the man was being carried off, and another man ran along 
to see where this man would be taken to. They went on to the next 
village, and another man followed to see what would be done with this 
man. On they went to the last village, and from here another man 
followed, to see what was to happen. The animal continued his journey, 
carrying Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer, the four men from the four vil- 
lages following. Once in a while the Elk would go fast and would 
leave the four men far behind, then he would slacken up again and the 
four men would gain on him, and so on, for a long way. Once in 
a while the four men would ask Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer to per- 
form some of his great powers and make his escape. Then the animal 
would go fast, and while he was under full speed Early-Morning-Deer 
Slayer would istand up, take his bow and bend it around his head, for 
he was going so fast that where he was it would thunder. This would 
cause the animal to go slower, and then the four men would catch up 
again. The four men still asked Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer to do 
the same thing again and try to make his escape. In reply, Early- 
Morning-Deer-Slayer would sing this song: 


Ja-a-he-schats-as-ta-ki-di-a. 
Ja-a-he-schats-as-ta-ki-di-a. 
Tcas-ta-ki-tsi-d’-waika-i-ta-ti-a. 
Na-ki-di-wa, Na-ki-di-wa. 





[From this point a repetition of the melody a whole degree lower ; 
and at the next repetition the same melody occurs another degree 
lower. This songis a remarkable example‘of changing‘tonality.] 





The Elk is carrying me on his antlers. 
The Elk is carrying me on his antlers. 
I am still living. 
T am still living. 


EARLY-MORNING-DEER-SLAYER. 231 


While on the way, this animal spoke out, saying that he had been 
away a good while, and that he expected his children would be pretty 
hungry; then he would increase his speed and leave the four men away 
behind; then he would stop, and the four men would catch up again. 
Now Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer saw a high point in the direction 
they were going, and the four men following also saw it. When the 
animal got pretty near to the high place he made one run, saying that 
his children must be pretty hungry. When the animal and Early- 
Morning~Deer-Slayer reached the high place the four men could hardly 
see them. There, in a great, big cave, lived Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer 
with his children, the Buzzards. Arriving at this place, the Elk stooped 
down to dump Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer off, when Early-Morning 
Deer-Slayer kicked the animal in the back of the head, and down they 
both went. There is no telling how deep this cave was, but on his way 
down the animal’s children would eat a person up before he came to the 
bottom. As they went down the cave, the Elk was first, and Early- 
Morning-Deer-Slayer was behind, so that the Elk was eaten by the 
children. When Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer was about half way down 
he got hold of the root of a tree, and there he held fast. When the 
four other men arrived at the cave they all looked down, and there 
was Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer, hanging onto the root. They said to 
him: “You hhave powers to do anything, so make haste and save your- 
self!” Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer told the men to dig a hole where 
they were, big enough for them to lie in. When they had dug the hole, 
Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer took his bow-string and swung it over his 
head and caused thé wind to blow from the north. When the wind 
blew, it threw him nearly out of the place. Again he swung his bow- 
string over his head and the wind blew harder, until it finally blew him 
out of the place; then it stopped blowing. The men got out of their 
places and looked down in the cave to see whether Early-Morning-Deer- 
Slayer was still there, but he was gone. The four men started on the 
trail of the wind, and here they found Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer. 

When they had gathered around him they asked if he was tired, 
and he answered that he was not tired, but that he would return to the 
place he was brought from. He asked the man from the first village 
if he wanted to go back, but the man answered that it was too far to go 
back. So Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer took him up, and threw him in 
a way which caused the man to fly, and he became a small Sparrow 
(Ichinekats). Then Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer asked the man from 
the second village if he wanted to go back, and the man said he did not, 
and that it was too far. Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer took him and 


232 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


threw him as he had thrown the first man, and he turned into a Yellow- 
hammer (Hatsok). Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer then asked the third 
man if he wanted to go back to his home, and he answered the same 
as the first two men. So Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer threw him, and 
he became a Towhee (Itchitihakao). Now, the man from the fourth 
village was asked about going home, and he said the same as the others 
had said. So Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer took him up and threw him, 
and he became a Red-Bird (Itschidisaskatsa). If the yellowhammer 
be closely examined, it will be found that the feathers on its back are 
of different color from those on the other parts of its body. This is 
because when the Yellowhammer dug his hole by the cave, he made it 
too shallow. When the wind blew, his back being very near the surface, 
the skin was blown off, so that now, the coloring of the feathers on the 
yellowhammer’s back signify that he once had a scar on his back. 

Now Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer set out to return to his village. 
On his way home, he came to a place where the people were having a 
big dance. He stopped there for a while, and asked the people what 
their dance meant. They answered him, saying that they were dancing 
because their enemy had been carried off and killed, and now they could 
all live on, without any one killing any of their number. The Early- 
Morning-Deer-Slayer took some ashes from the fire and threw them on 
the heads of the people and commanded that their heads should always 
look that way. The people after that looked as though some one had 
thrown ashes on their heads. Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer went out 
again, and when darkness came, he stopped to rest. At this place he 
killed a deer, for after he had got out of the cave he had great powers, 
and he had commanded his arrows to come to him and they came, so 
that when he stopped to rest at night the killed a deer the same as usual 
for his meat. While Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer was at this place some 
men came around, whispering to each other, saying: “That is surely 
Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer.” They went to him, and asked him if ‘the 
was not the same Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer that they had known. He 
answered that he had got away from the monster, and invited the men 
to eat with him. One of the two men was his friend. They ate with 
him, and left him with joy and started for the woods, where they are 
always seen. They were Opossums (Kadaiok). 

Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer continued his journey home; and when 
he arrived there he found that all the people had moved away. He fol- 
lowed their trail, until one day as he went over the hill he saw some one 
still going. He stopped for a while and wondered who it could be, 
and finally discovered that it was his sister. He took one of his arrows 


EARLY-MORNING-DEER-SLAYER. ; 233 


and shot it over her, so that she might find the arrow. While she was 
still going she came to the place where the arrow had stuck up, and 
looked around to see if ‘ther brother ‘had returned, for, of course, she 
knew her brother’s arrows. Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer finally overtook 
his sister, and noticed that she was packing something on her back, and 
he asked what it was. She told him that it was the Coyote’s (Ketox’s) 
children; that after he had been carried off everybody believed him to 
be dead; that their father and mother had both died because they be- 
lieved their son had been killed, so she was all alone; and that the 
Coyote had taken her up and abused her and made her pack his children 
for him. FEarly-Morning-Deer-Slayer took the Coyotes and destroyed 
them. He asked his sister how she had been treated by everybody, and 
she told him that no one liked her, and that while packing the Coyote’s 
children in the evening, the Coyote would come and meet her and whip 
_her. Now they started to the place where the people had gone, and they 
saw the Coyote coming. Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer hid himself so 
that the Coyote would not see him. The Coyote met the woman and said 
that EFarly-Morning-Deer-Slayer must have been with her. The Coyote 
always abused her in this way, because he thought Early-Morning-Deer 
Slayer would never return. Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer now appeared, 
and took the straps his sister had used to pack the Coyote’s children, and 
a piece of his bow-string. He tied the straps together, and his sister got 
inside of them, and he set the Coyote to carrying his sister. He took 
the string part and put it on the Coyote’s head, which began to work 
into his head and finally split itin two. After they had killed the Coyote 
they went on again, until they got near to where the people stopped, 
coming from the west. He told his sister that there was no use of their 
living there again, and so Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer took one of his 
black arrows and shot toward the north. He shot another arrow toward 
the east, another to the south, and another to where they were. These 
arrows he commanded to be used by other generations. When Early- 
Morning-Deer-Slayer shot the arrows to the four points, each stuck 
near the edge of the village, which caused a fire to start in each of the 
four directions. In this way he destroyed his village by fire. The other 
villages still existed. Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer and his sister went 
to the woods. 

This is the reason mountain-lion can killa deer so easily. In those 
times, when Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer was living as a human being, 
the deer was prey. So these two, Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer and his 
sister, were Mountain-Lions. 


234 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 
35. TROUBLE AMONG THE CHIEF’S CHILDREN.* 


Once upon a time there was a village, and in the village lived a 
chief who was the head of his tribe. The chief had a son and daughter, 
both of whom had always refused to marry, this being the way that 
children in chiefs’ families did. It was customary for chiefs always to 
-have company every night and every day. The older men were always 
sitting up at night, talking about times in their early days. The young 
woman, of course, had to do the cooking for these men. ‘These were 
times when young men would ask the chief’s son if he could let them 
marry his sister. But when the young woman was asked she always 
refused, and she was single for a long time. 

It happened that Man-fond-of-Deer-Meat (Taaniksiats) came to 
her. She thought to herself that he was the man she had been waiting 
to see for a long time, and so she accepted him. The next morning, her 
people noticed that she was not getting up as early as usual. They sent 
her brother to see what was the matter. When he reached the place 
where she was he noticed some one was with her in bed. He asked them 
to get out of the bed and come down and get their breakfast. After he 
had told them this he went to the main lodge and told his parents that 
there was some one in bed with his sister. He and his parents were 
very proud of this, and they were anxious to see who this man was who 
had married the girl. Finally the woman and her man entered the 
lodge, and they saw the young man. They knew him as soon as they 
saw him. When they were eating breakfast, the girl’s father told her 
that she must either leave and go somewhere else and live with this 
man, or have him sent away, for Man-fond-of-Deer-Meat was known 
to be of no account for anything but hunting. They thought she should 
have some one who was man enough to go out on any kind of an expedi- 
tion, especially on the war-path; that it was extraordinary among the 
people of those times if a woman such as she should marry a man who 
was of no account as a warrior and could not make the family more 
prominent by bringing them scalps. But the woman thought to herself 
that it was right for her to have her home and live all to herself and 
her man, so they could have everything to themselves, and have no one 
to say anything to them. 

The following day, the woman got together her things that she 
thought she would need to build their new home with. After having 
everything ready, that same night they started on their way to some far 
distant place. They traveled all night and about daybreak rested and - 


*Told by Istor (Woman) (Towakoni). 


TROUBLE AMONG THE CHIEF'S CHILDREN. 235 


went to sleep for a while, until plain daylight, when they started again, 
going toward the south until darkness overtook them. They again 
stopped for a night’s rest, instead of traveling at night. They had 
something along to eat, and it was easy for Man-fond-of-Deer-Meat to 
kill any game that he wanted. When they stopped ‘he went out a short 
distance and shot a deer, so that they had meat for their supper. The 
‘next morning, they ate their breakfast and journeyed again, traveling 
all that day until darkness came down on them. They stopped for a 
night’s rest. Man-fond-of-Deer-Meat, being such a great hunter, did 
the same as he had done before, killing a deer and getting enough meat 
for supper and two other meals. When he arrived where his wife was 
they cooked their supper, ate, and went to sleep. The next day, after 
eating their breakfast they started, still going in the same direction. The 
following day they traveled until sundown, and again rested. The 
young man did the same thing over again, killing a deer and having deer 
meat for their meals. They slept again, and on the next day, after 
eating their breakfast, they traveled in the same course all day till 
darkness overtook them, when they stopped again. The man would 
do the same thing over again, killing a deer for their meat. So they 
again ate their supper and slept. The next day they journeyed, and 
this time Man-fond-of-Deer-Meat thought that they were far enough 
away from everybody. That afternoon they looked for a place fit 
to live in, and finally succeeded in finding one. Man-fond-of-Deer-Meat 
said to his wife that this was the place for them to live and make their 
home. 
Here they lived, the woman fixing up the place, building their 
grass-lodge and sheds to dry meat, Man-fond-of-Deer-Meat doing all 
the hunting. The woman remained at home by herself, for there was 
no sign of any people living near them. She sometimes thought that 
hers was the kind of a man she wanted, one who would make a living, 
so that she would never be hungry, instead of having a man going out 
on the war-path and becoming a famous woman, the wife of a warrior. 
They lived here a good long while, the woman remaining at home, the 
man going out hunting every day. They always had plenty of meat, and 
the woman raised corn, so that they had plenty to eat. After they had 
lived a long while at this place Man-fond-of-Deer-Meat went out hunt- 
ing with his four arrows and bow to kill deer, his most important meat, 
as is signified by his name. He saw a deer sitting down. He shot at 
the deer and missed it. Quickly he thought to himself, “Well, what can 
be the matter with me that I have missed a deer so close!”” When he had 
shot at the deer it jumped up and ran. He stopped at this place looking 


236 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


for his arrow. It was early in the day and therefore he looked for his 
arrow. Finally he had to give it up and went straight on home, instead 
of looking for more deer. Arriving home he quickly ordered some- 
thing to eat; told his wife about missing a deer when shooting at it, 
and that on the next day he would again go out looking for his arrow. 
This was the beginning of unfortunate times. 

Early on the next day he started off again in search of his arrow 
instead of going hunting. Arriving at the place where he had shot the 
deer he looked all around again, and would once in a while turn back 
where he was when shooting the deer and aim straight to where the 
deer had been. Then he would go and look for his arrow. He was all 
day looking for it, until late. Then he went back to his home, calling 
for something to eat. While eating he told his wife that some way or 
other he could not find his lost arrow. This was the commencement of 
his misfortune. Instead of hunting again he would hunt for his arrow. 
Every day he went out looking for it, and for some reason he was 
greedy and came home later than usual. Every day he went out he 
got worse. He ceased to ask his wife to give him something to eat, but 
would help himself. All he would ask would be if the fire was still 
burning, then he would go ahead and cook for himself. His wife finally 
noticed that their provisions were running short, for her husband was 
eating up everything they had. Finally the time came when they had 
eaten everything. The man got to eating dry hides and everything else. 
Still he would go out hunting his arrow, instead of hunting game. 
After he had eaten everything his wife put out the fire, so it would give 
out but a dim light, and he asked her to go to bed. His wife did as he 
told her. She then heard him grunting, and she noticed him cutting flesh 
off from his legs and cooking it after he had again built a fire, and eating 
it. This time, instead of getting in bed with his wife, he remained where 
he was and went to sleep. This he continued to do until he was nearly 
nothing but bones. | 

One day a person come along who told the woman how foolish 
she had been to marry such a man as Man-Fond-of-Deer-Meat; that 
some one else influenced her, and that there was some one preparing to 
take his life, and when she had taken this notion she was clearing the 
way for his and her ruin; that he would never find his arrow; that being 
a hunter of deer, Big-Hail-Deer (Taahaitschidl) had taken a notion to 
ruin him, first by causing him to lose his arrow at Where-two-cardinal- 
points-met (Jadatsikddaannidi), the northwest, where the man’s arrow 
could not be found; that there was no use of her telling her man, but 


TROUBLE AMONG THE CHIEF'S CHILDREN. 237 


that she should make her escape, for it was her day to die. He meant 
that on his return, Man-fond-of-Deer-Meat would kill her and eat her. 
This was early in the day, and it was the Sparrow (Ichinekats) who 
told her this. He gave her a stick and a double-ball, a handful of deer 
hair, bark from a dogwood tree and a bundle of reddish-colored pieces 
of fine stones for paint. She was first to use the double-ball to travel 
on when she would be pursued; then she was to throw the deer hair 
down, with which her man might busy himself by chasing deers to kill 
them, and so forget about chasing her, when she would get far ahead 
of him. Next she was to use the bark in the same way, and then use 
the red stones last. Finally she was to use her stick, dragging it behind 
her across her path once, when there would be a deep canyon. She was 
told to go ahead, make her escape and return home. The woman went 
out. She tossed up in the air the double-ball, toward the north, and 
was on it. This was to prevent Man-fond-of-Deer-Meat from knowing 
which way she was starting. She kept on going, using the double-ball 
all the time. Before starting she was told that she would hear her man 
talking, after he should find that she was gone, and that he would have 
to find her trail before he could start after her. She traveled all that 
day until late in the evening, when she heard her man talking and 
asking where she had gone, saying: “Who could have come around to 
tell her to make her escape, for the time has come that I thought I 
was going to get all I wanted to eat?” When she had escaped, she was 
without any blanket around her legs, for her man had eaten everything. 
He finally found her trail and commenced to pursue her. It was night 
and she was traveling, so that it was not very long until she was nearly 
overtaken. She used the deer hairs first, throwing them on the ground. 
She kept on going. When her man got to this place he said to himself: 
“Well, here are lots of deer. I could kill many deer here, instead of 
looking for my arrow.” He at once commenced. to chase the deer 
around with the expectation of killing one. By this time his wife had 
gone on a long distance, when he thought of the chase he had been 
making. He started after her again. She had heard every word he had 
said while he was chasing deer. Finally she heard him coming closer 
and closer. Now she took the bark of dogwood and threw it on the 
ground, and left the place with big bushes of dogwood. Thus she got a 
good way ahead of him. When Man-fond-of-Deer-Meat arrived at 
the place he commenced to cut down some bushes, saying to himself that 
he could come along again and find the place, when he would get all the 
dogwood bushes he wanted for arrow making. He sat down, cut some 
sticks and commenced to remove the bark and straighten them. Here 


238 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


he stayed longer, and almost forgot the chase he was making. He 
finally thought of the chase again, and began talking to himself. The 
woman heard every word he said, for she had been given power to hear 
him at a long distance. She was going fast, but still her man was a 
much faster traveler than she. 

It was now day, and she heard him coming again. She emptied 
the bundle of fine red-colored stones for painting. Then she left behind 
her much of her red-colored paint. She went on, still using the double- 
ball to travel on. When her man came to this place he stopped, for he 
found just what he had been wanting for a long time. He said to him- 
self that he had been a long time wanting to get such paint and finally 
he had found it, and he was going to get all he wanted. He remained 
here for a while, gathering up stones. Finally he was reminded of his 
chase for his wife, and he said: “Never mind, I will get you. You will 
never get away from me.” ‘Then he started after her again. This time, 
his wife found that she was getting nearer home. It was not very long 
until she heard her man coming.. She used the stick, which was the last 
resort she had. She struck the ground, making a deep canyon. She 
continued her journey, using the double-ball. Now she was near her 
home, when some way or other Man-fond-of-Deer-Meat got over the 
canyon. She could now barely see the hill next to the village where she 
was going. She kept on going until she reached the top of the hill. 
When she looked back she saw her man coming right after her. It 
was now late in the evening. She saw young women of her age playing 
the double-ball. She kept on going toward her home. She frightened 
every woman-who was out playing, and the women said among them- 
selves that there must be something after her. She went right into the 
grass-lodge of her father and went straight to him. 

There were a good many men inside of this place. When it grew 
dark they could hear Man-fond-of-Deer-Meat talking outside of the 
lodge, asking that she might be turned out and saying that he wanted 
her. The woman’s father said to her, “et me tell you a story.” He 
then commenced to tell her the story about a chief having a daughter 
who married and left home for the sake of keeping her husband, when 
the old folks did not want her to keep her man. The chief told her 
the whole tale of her life while out by herself and with her man; how 
her man lost his arrow; how they soon ate up everything; how greedy 
her man became after losing his arrow; how some one came to notify 
her that her life was threatened; that in a short time on that day she 
should be killed by her husband; how she was compelled to make her 
escape by various means, in order to prevent her man from catching 


THE TURTLES WAR-PARTY. 239 


up with her; how she traveled fast, and what hard times she had had. 
It was now about daylight, when the chief was still telling the story, 
and everybody in the lodge with the chief heard him. But Man-fond-of- 
Deer-Meat was still calling for his wife when the chief ended his story. 
He ended the story about his daughter’s life, telling her what time she 
arrived at the village; that she was without her blanket; how she ran 
for her life to her father’s grass-lodge and what a crowd of men there 
were. It was daylight when he completed the story. At the same time, 
Man-fond-of-Deer-Meat fell dead, just outside of the lodge, so that the 
village had no further trouble. This is the beginning of times when 
children of chief’s families were misled and had much trouble. The 
village remained here ever after. 


36. THE TURTLE’S WAR-PARTY.* 


There was once a village, and in this village lived the Turtle 
(Gegeezseyar). In the village there was a chief who had a daughter. 
She was a single woman and had refused to marry many men who 
wanted to marry her. But she offered herself to any man who could 
bring to her a scalp that had red hair. There were a good many 
men who went out on the war-path to look for a red-haired scalp, but 
every one failed to find any one of the enemy that had red hair. One 
man after another led out war-parties, but they all returned without 
the scalp. 

Once upon a time the Turtle called on his mother to make some 
corn meal for him to take along, saying that he wanted to go out on 
the war-path by himself and secure that scalp for the chief's daughter 
and get her for a wife. His mother said to him: “You can not kill 
anything. You can not go very far in the way you always travel.” 
But the Turtle kept on coaxing his mother to do this for him. She 
finally ground some corn for him and he at once started off on the war- 
path. He went toward the south and was on the way for several days, 
when he met a person. He asked the person where he was going, 
saying that he himself was going out on the war-path. The person then 
asked to join him, and so the Turtle allowed him to go along. This 
person was the Rat (Nikisiwatsa). On the way the Turtle told the Rat 
what he was going on the war-path for, saying that there was a chief’s 
daughter who wanted to marry some man who could secure for her a 
red-haired scalp. The Rat told the Turtle that that was easy to be done. 





*Told by Saved-another-in-the-Water-from-the-Enemy (Towakoni). 


240 THE MYTHOLOGY OF eTHRE “WICHITA; 


They went on and on for several days, and finally met another man. 
This man then asked the two where they were going. They told him 
that they were going out on the war-path, and they told him why they 
were going. The man asked to join them. The two allowed him to go 
along with them, for they knew that he was brave. This person was 
the Horned-Beetle (Oskanaats). They traveled on, and on, until they 
met another person, who asked them where they were going. They told 
him where they were going, and the person asked if he could join them. 
This person was the Locust (Koskatoch). ‘They accepted him, for they 
all knew he was a brave warrior. While on their way they began to 
tell him what they were going out for. The Locust told them that it 
was easy to secure such a scalp. They then went on toward the south 
and met another person, who laughed at them and asked where they 
were going. They told him they were going out on the war-path. This 
person then asked if he could join them, but they refused to accept him, 
for 'they knew that he was a coward. When they refused to allow him 
to go along with them, this person said he was going along with them 
whether they wanted him to or not. They told ‘him that they knew he 
was a coward and that if the enemy got after them he would leave them 
behind instead of fighting for their lives. This person was the Coyote 
(Ketox). The Coyote told them that if they would let him go he would 
do the spying, for he was a fast traveler, and so they consented and the 
Coyote joined the Turtle’s command. 

They went on traveling. As soon as the Turtle knew that he was 
pretty near to the enemy’s village he sent the Coyote out spying. That 
evening the Coyote came back, bringing news about a village. They 
asked the Turtle what he thought of that. The Turtle told the men that 
he wanted to attack the whole village, but the Coyote told the Turtle 
that it was a large village and that they were too few in numbers to 
attack it. But the Turtle said that he wanted to get right in the middle 
of the village before he could do anything. The Coyote began to get 
scared at what these men were going to do. They told him they knew 
in the first place that ‘he was too big a coward to be in their war-party. 
They were close to the village that evening, and when night came they 
kept on going closer and closer, and when most of the people had gone 
to sleep they entered the village. They went from one tipi to another, 
looking for a man with red hair. Meanwhile the Coyote grew more 
frightened, for it was unsafe to be doing that. They finally succeeded 
in finding a place where there was a large tipi. One of the men looked - 
in there and saw some one who had red hair like they wanted. In this 
large tipi all of the great men were sitting up to pass the time. When 


THE TURTLES WAR-PARTY. 241 


everybody had gone to sleep, all the warriors thought that they would 
go to the tipi, but the Coyote told the men that he would remain outside, 
to look out for them. When everybody was asleep these men entered 
the place where they had located the enemy with the red hair. The Turtle 
went right straight to the place where ‘this man was sleeping, cut his 
throat, and neck, too, and took his scalp. The Turtle then called his 
partners, who were going from one bed to another. They went out, 
and the Coyote joined them again. He had been scared nearly to death 
when they were inside the tipi. They started home, but before they 
were outside of the village the Turtle began to sing victory songs, and 
he woke everybody up. The people began to find out that there had 
been enemies in the village. All of the people in the village then woke 
up and found that enemies had killed one of their chiefs. They com- 
menced to pursue the war-party, and overtook them just a little outside 
of the village. Four of the war-party hid themselves in the grass, while 
these enemies pursued the Coyote. ‘They overtook the Coyote and 
killed him, but could not find any of his partners, so that the enemy 
returned to their home. The war-party then began to call one another 
and finally came together again. They went on until they came to a 
hill and there they found the Coyote lying dead, where the enemy had 
overtaken him and killed him. They found the Coyote full of arrow 
wounds, and badly cut up. The Turtle put the Coyote on his feet and 
called to him to rise, saving that he had slept too soundly. The Coyote 
arose, rubbed his eyes and ‘said to these men that he had been sound 
asleep. The Turtle then told the Coyote he knew that he was a coward 
and could not stand it to be with such warriors and brave men as they 
were. 

It was a good many days before he arrived home with the scalp 
and delivered it to the chief. The Turtle was bound to get the chief’s 
daughter, because he had the scalp that she called for. The chief’s 
daughter was then given the scalp that the Turtle had obtained, and the 
Turtle was given this woman for his wife. This was a ‘surprise to every 
able-bodied man who could travel faster than the Turtle, but who could 
not get the scalp required. The Turtle had not lived with this woman 
very long when the chief called forth all the men and women, and the 
children to his tipi, to hear what the Turtle had to say. When every- 
body was present the Turtle told the people that all he wanted to show 
them was where such a scalp could be taken; that it was pretty hard for 
a man to get; that had it not been for him a good many men would 
still be sending out war-parties to secure the scalp he had taken, which 
might cost some of them their lives; that for their sake he had saved 


242 THE MYTHOLOGY, OF THE. WICHITA, 


every one from doing this dangerous thing; that because he had done 
this for them the wanted to leave the village, never to live as a human 
being again; that every one could do as he pleased, remain as human 
being always, or be something else. The Turtle then went to the 
prairie and turned into a Prairie-Turtle (Kikeskatoshkeyosh), and 
many of the people went off the same way, turning into something else. 
Some remained in the village. 


3%. THE TURTLE’S WAR-PARTY.* 


There was once in a certain village, where the Turtle lived, a chief 
who offered this daughter to the one who should get for him a red-haired 
scalp. These red-haired people were the Wasps, and as they had White- 
Geese for their spies it was not possible for any one to reach their place 
without their knowing it. When people had tried to go there the 
Geese notified the Wasps that the people were coming. Many warriors 
failed in their attempt to get such a scalp. Once upon a time the Turtle 
asked his mother to make him a pair of moccasins and prepare him some 
corn meal to take along with him. His mother asked him where he was 
going. The Turtle said he was going after a red-haired scalp; but his 
mother would not allow him, for it was not safe for him to go, for 
those who had tried to get such scalps lost their lives. For this reason 
the mother thought it was not safe for the Turtle to make the attempt, 
but the Turtle thought he could succeed where others had failed. 
Finally his mother made him a pair of moccasins and prepared the 
meal for him, and he set out. He started to the west, where the red- 
haired people were known to live. As he went along he came to a high 
point where he saw smoke coming out. The Turtle was curious to 
know who lived there and if the man would be good enough to allow 
him to remain there for a time. As he approached the place he was 
allowed to enter. There he found the Mole (Iskuhukehhas). The 
Turtle was permitted to sit down at the south side of the Mole. The 
Turtle was told that it was through him (the Mole) that he had been 
induced to come to the red-haired people, and that he now would aid 
him to secure the red-haired scalp, in order that the Turtle might get 
the chief’s daughter. The Turtle thought that was a very good plan, to 
have somebody else help him to get the scalp. The Turtle was permitted 
to stay there. The Mole said he would go and locate all the reddest 
haired men. When the Mole went to the red-haired people’s place, 


*Told by Ahahe (Waco). 


LITTLE-CROW, WHO BECAME A SPARROW-HAWK. 243 


instead of going on top of the ground he went under the ground, so he 
could not be seen by the Geese who spied for the red-haired people. 
When the Mole had entered the village of the red-haired people he looked 
around and located all the people. He turned back to his home to 
notify the Turtle what he had seen and how he had located all of the red- 
haired people. Then both turned back to the red-haired people’s ‘homes. 
They went by the same way the Mole had gone, under the ground, the 
Mole in the lead. They arrived at night. They waited until all had 
gone to bed. When every one had gone to bed the Mole spied around to 
locate some chief who had red hair, and after he had found one he 
turned back to get the Turtle. Now they went back to the place where 
he had found the red-haired chief. Both went direct to the red-haired 
chief, and the Turtle cut off this head. Now they started back, under- 
ground. They traveled all that night, back to the Mole’s place, and 
when they arrived it was daylight. On the next day the Turtle was per- 
mitted to go back to ‘his home and show his red-haired scalp, which ‘he 
had got where everybody else had failed. . 

‘When he got to his village, instead of going to his home he went to 
the chief’s home. He showed the scalp to the chief. He told the chief 
that the scalp was for him; that he had got it when everybody else had 
failed. The chief told the Turtle he might live there with him ever 
after, and have his daughter for his wife. The news spread in the 
village from one place to another about the Turtle bringing the scalp 
that all else had failed to get. When the Turtle was living with the 
chief’s family there were great crowds of men who came around the 
place at night and sat up part of the night passing the time by telling 
stories. On one occasion the Turtle was asked how he got to the red- 
haired people’s place without being seen. He told how it came about 
and the people were surprised when they heard. The Turtle lived with 
the chief’s daughter thereafter. 


38. LITTLE-CROW WHO BECAME A SPARROW-HAWK.* 


There was once a village where lived four brothers and their 
mother. The brothers were not chiefs, but were prominent men, noted 
as warriors. There was a chief who had the control of this village. In 
these times the chief’s home could be distinguished by the signs the 
chiefs had in front of their lodges—a tanned buffalo hide erected in 
front of the lodge, which was the emblem of a chief’s lodge. Little- 


*Told by Ahahe (Waco), 


244 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


Crow (Kiisskawiharikitsi), who was one of the four brothers, would 
always go out on the war-path against their enemies, the Trickster- 
Spies (Kinas-Kitikeahara). On their return they would bring scalps 
or some captives; this was their way of living. All the people of the 
village knew them as great warriors, as they were always out on the 
war-path. On one occasion, when the brothers were all at ‘home, the 
oldest said to the others: “From this time on, since our mother has to 
do all the work by herself, let us make this arrangement: If ever we 
have to meet the enemy and anyone fails to be on hand, let us make 
that one wear clothes like a woman. Let us make him stay at home 
thereafter and help our mother to do the cooking.” 

Early next morning, Little-Crow went to the creek to take a bath. 
He, of course, had a certain place to bathe where no one else took a bath. 
While in the water, when he looked up on the bank where his things 
were he saw a woman standing there, looking at him, and he did not 
know what to do. He remained in the water, waiting for the woman 
to go away, but the woman remained standing there for a long while. 
She finally asked Little-Crow why he was not going to the scene of 
the battle that was going on that morning. She told him that it was of 
course known that it could not be anybody else but his brothers who 
were doing the fighting. Ljittle-Crow came out of the water, took his 
things and went to the place, having in mind the agreement the brothers 
had made regarding the one who should fail to be on hand at the time 
of battle. He ran as fast as he could so as to be present at the battle. 
While he was on the way, he met a man coming home from the battle 
who told him that it was useless for him to go further, for he thought 
that the enemy had all been killed. Little-Crow kept on running, 
thinking that there might still be left some one for him to fight. After 
a while he met one of his brothers coming back, who told him that it 
was useless for him to go further, for there was but one enemy left, 
though that one was brave; but that the rest of his brothers had done 
most of the killing and were still after this one who was so brave. 
Little-Crow went on, in the hope of killing the last one or die, so as to 
escape having to wear clothes like a woman. He went on and met his 
brothers and they told him to go back, that he must always stay at 
home thereafter, to help their mother do the cooking, for there was 
only one of the enemy left to go on and tell of their defeat, and that he 
was a hard one to fight with. He went on to meet this enemy. 

When the enemy found that Little-Crow was after him, he turned 
around, ran towards him, and shot at ‘him with ‘his right and left hand. 
“Sure enough,” thought Little-Crow, “this man is dangerous.” He 


LITTLE-CROW, WHO BECAME A SPARROW-HAWK. 245 


then dodged away from him again, with the intention of using his war- 
club on him. He failed the second time. He tried again, and again, 
but the foe always escaped without injury. “Well!” thought Little- 
Crow, “I must try once more, to see whether I shall kill him or he shall 
kill me.” This was his last chance. He then went up to the enemy 
in the same way as he had always approached enemies, and when his 
foe had missed him several times he finally got hold of him and began 
to wrestle with him. They kept rolling around, now one on top, then 
the other, the one at the top always trying to get an arrow so that he 
could stick the one on the bottom with the point of it. Finally Little- 
Crow got on top, pulled the enemy over to where one of the arrows was 
lying, picked it up between his toes and finally landed the point of it 
on the enemy’s side and killed him. Ljittle-Crow then sat down to rest, 
and he thought to himself: “If I take this man’s scalp and behead him 
my brothers may not believe that I have killed him. They may say 
that I took the scalp from an enemy they have killed.” Then he 
thought about what he must do to make his brothers believe that he 
had killed the enemy whom neither one of them could kill. Finally he 
decided to carry the whole body on his back to his brothers, so that 
they would have to believe him. It was then getting late in the day. 
He took the body, put it on his back and carried it some distance, then 
rested for a while to get breath. He kept on carrying it until he reached 
home. 

When he got home he stood outside, still carrying the body on his 
back. When he was standing he heard his brothers talking about him, 
and they were wondering why Little-Crow had not yet come home. 
They said that when he met the foe he must have died, for they knew 
that this enemy was dangerous. They blamed their oldest brother for 
the whole thing, saying he was the sole cause of his brother’s death, if 
he were dead, for he had proposed the agreement that the one who 
failed to be present during battle should wear woman’s clothes; and 
because Little-Crow did not want to do woman’s work he had died. 
Little-Grow, of course, heard every word that his brothers said. They 
sat up all night, talking about him, while he stood there listening, the 
dead body on his back. The brothers kept on talking about the matter, 
until a certain time came, when Little-Crow began to sing to them 
about his early life; how he grew to be a man and became a noted war- 
rior ; how he had been treated by his brothers; sent out with them on the 
war-path ; what they had done on the war-path; what his oldest brother 
had commanded to be done if one should happen to be absent from a 
battle; how he went down to the water for a bath, and how a woman 


240 THE: MYDEBOLOGY OR LET baw ICE TEA, 


found him; how he was ashamed to leave the water till she told him of 
the battle being fought outside the village; how he quickly left the 
water, going to the scene of battle; how he went and got his weapons, 
met the men who said his brothers had performed most of the fighting ; 
how he managed to be present at the scene of the fighting ; how he met 
one of his brothers and was told that it was useless that he should go 
further, for his brothers had quite likely killed the last one in the 
battle; how he met his other brothers, and they told him there was one 
who was dangerous still alive; how he met this dangerous man and 
found him dangerous as his brothers told him. Thus he told in song 
the story, telling all of it in words. Then he told in song how he 
killed the enemy; failed the first time, and the second, then the third 
time and the fourth; how they wrestled all around there, rolling on top 
of one another ; how he finally succeeded in getting an arrow while on 
top; how he landed an arrow point in the man’s side and killed him; 
how he thought to show his brothers he had killed the same one that 
neither one of them could kill; how he carried home the body; how he 
rested when he gave out; how he finally succeeded in reaching home; 
and how now he stood outside, listening to his brothers talking. When 
he had ended the song he called his brothers, telling them to come out 
and see if he had not killed the same identical person whom they had 
failed to kill; then he threw the body on the ground. It was then day- 
light and everybody in the village was awake, when they heard him 
singing. He had waited until morning, thinking that his brothers 
might not believe him in the darkness; that they might think he had 
picked up some other dead body and brought it home. All his brothers 
came out and everybody else came, to see the body, and all said that 
it was the same man whom every brave had failed to kill. This was 
the song: 

“Hi-na-ni-i-rai, 

Hi-na-ni-i-rai, 

Hi-na-ni-i-rai. 

Ah-he-na-hi-na-ni-i-rai. 

Hi-na-ni-i-rai, 

Hi-na-ni-i-rai, 

Hi-na-ni-i-rai. 

Ah-he-na-hi-na-ni-i-rai. 
Hi-na-ni-i-rai- 





And soon 


THE LITTLE BROWN HAWKS. 247 


This is the tune of his song of his early life and his life on the 
war-path, in times when he did not want to do any home work, as his 
oldest brother had decreed for him who should fail to be present in 
battle. , 

Little-Crow having done this heroic deed the people gathered 
around their home, giving him a victory dance and praising him. 
After the dante was over in the daytime they again danced at night, 
continuing the dance until morning. ‘This was the beginning of victory 
dances. It was now a good time when they lived with the people. Then 
they quickly called the people together, and when the people came, 
they announced to them that they wanted to leave their old home and 
to live hereafter somewhere else. So they commenced to teach their 
powers to the human beings for the next generation, and when they 
took pity on any one they gave him powers so that some one could do 
the same things they had done when they existed on the earth as human 
beings. After they had taught the people their powers they went into 
their lodge, threw a gourd full of water upon the fire, and as the 
steam arose the four brothers went up with it and became Sparrow- 
Hawks. 


39. THE LITTLE BROWN HAWKS.* 


There was once a family living all by themselves. This family 
consisted of father, mother, and four boys. ‘heir name was Swift- 
Hawk (Gusseios). ‘he old man talked to his boys and taught them 
to go out on the war-path and hunting. The four brothers resembled 
each other so much that the only way people could tell them apart was 
by their ages. The old man forbade the boys to go to the village called 
Fire-Light-like-Prairie-Fire (Hasaitsiaidadiwa), north of their homes. 
Once upon.a time the oldest boy took a notion to visit the place. It took 
him four days to go, and when he got there he asked where there was 
a place for visitors to stay all night. He was told to go to the largest 
tipi that he could see, where he would find one of the leading men of 
the village and that he would be allowed to stay all night. He went 
on as directed and entered the place. The man whom he was visiting 
told the Swift-Hawk that there was danger at the place; that in this 
place was living Boy-setting-Grass-on-Fire-by-his-Footsteps (Weks- 
naquadniahaits), who was a dangerous man, and had the Coyote 
(Ketox) for his servant. While the man was telling how dangerous 





*Told by Man-who-killed-three-blind-in-the-left-Eye-Osage (Wichita). 


248 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


the place was the Coyote walked in, then stepped out again and carried 

the news back to his master that there was a visitor at the place. The 
next morning Swift-Hawk woke early and went to the nearest water 
to take an early morning bath. He was then called to a shinny ball 
game, where the loser of the game was to forfeit his life. They com- 
menced to play. Swift-Hawk was a pretty good runner, but he could 
not equal Boy-setting-Grass-on-Fire-by-his-Footsteps, and he lost the 
game and was clubbed to death with a shinny club. When first starting 
from home he had all his war materials, such things as arrows, bow and 
quiver and shield, which he had left in the lodge where he visited over 
night. Soon after this, one of Swift-Hawk’s brothers decided to set 
out and look for him. This second Swift-Hawk started. It took him 
four days to reach the village, which was the same his dead brother had 
gone to. He, as his brother had done, asked where visitors were 
received. He was told to go to the largest tipi that he could see and 
there he would find a place to stay over night. He walked in and was 
told to pass on to the west side of the tipi. There he noticed lis 
brother’s things hanging up. He then thought to himself that there 
must be some danger. He was told there was a dangerous man at the 
place who had a servant who would soon be in to carry the news of 
his presence back to his master. So Swift-Hawk hung his things with 
those of his dead brother. It was thought by the people that he was 
the same identical man whom they had killed. The next day he was 
called for; but before he went to the place he went to the creek for a 
bath, and then dressed himself. He put a white feather on his head, 
which made him resemble his dead brother. He was called to the 
shinny game. They commenced to play. When they ran, his opponent 
left the grass burning in his tracks. Swift-Hawk lost the game and 
it cost him his life. It was the agreement that he who lost should 
forfeit his life. 

In these times everything seemed long, and everything seemed 
short. It seemed a long time since the Swift-Hawks left home. Another 
Swift-Hawk decided to go out in search of his brothers. It took him 
four days. He found the fireplaces of those who had gone before him, 
where they had built a fire, as darkness had overtaken them. He finally 
reached the village and asked where a visitor might find a place to stop 
over night. He was told to go straight to the highest tipi that he could 
see, where he would be allowed to stay all night. He went on as directed, 
came to the place and entered. The man living there knew when he 
saw him coming that he must belong to the same family as the two 
who had been killed., He was told to sit down in the visitor’s seat. 


THE LITTLE BROWN HAWKS. 249 


Before he sat down he noticed the weapons that belonged to his older 
brothers. He sat down, and just then the old Coyote entered and went 
out again, carrying the message that he was present back to his master. 
He reported that there was another visitor that seemed to be of the same 
family as the two previously killed. The Swift-Hawk was given some- 
thing to eat and a bed to sleep on. The next morning he rose before 
daylight, went straight to the creek and took an early morning bath. 
When he went back he was called to the play ground at the edge of the 
village. He went to the shinny ball grounds. He dressed like his 
brothers, and he was painted like them, and had some kind of a feather 
on his head. They then commenced to play the shinny game. The 
play ground extended north and south and it was a long way from goal 
to goal. The Swift-Hawk lost the game and forfeited his life, for his 
opponent was the fastest runner in the village. When running, he would 
set the grass on fire in his tracks. 

Another Swift-Hawk now took a notion to go and look for his 
brothers. It will be remembered that this was the last of the four 
brothers. He also was four days on the way to the village. All trav- 
eled at about the same pace and camped for each night at the same 
places. The Swift-Hawk arrived at the village at sundown and asked 
where he could stop for the night. He was told to go to the largest 
and highest tipi that he could see, where he would find a man who 
would allow him to stay all night. So he went on as told, entered the 
place, and when the young man living at the place saw him he knew 
him to be of the same family as the three brothers who had been killed. 
The Swift-Hawk was asked to pass on to the place where visitors sat 
and slept. Here he noticed his dead brothers’ things hanging up. 
He was told that his brothers had died, having lost their shinny games, 
and that there was a man in the village who had the power to win 
the shinny game; that early in the morning he would be called to the 
shinny game to play. He then was given something to eat and a bed 
to sleep on. Ejarly the next morning he got up and went to the creek 
for a bath. When he had taken a bath he dressed himself and put on 
the same kind of clothes his brothers had worn. He was now called 
to the shinny grounds to play. When he was seen, it was thought that 
‘he was the same man who had been killed there before. They tossed 
the ball and commenced the game. It consisted of tossing the ball and 
one hitting it, the first running in the direction they were headed, the 
other following after him. They played for a while, until the Swift- 
Hawk played out and lost the game. He was then clubbed with the 
shinny club. 


250 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE ‘WICHITA, 


At the Swift-Hawks’ home there were now left the old woman and 
the old man. The old man said to his wife: “I know well enough that 
they have gone where I always told them not to go, and they have 
disobeyed me. Suppose I try my turn and look for my children.” He 
at once set out to look for his children. It took him four days to reach 
the place. He followed the trail of his sons, and stopped to rest at 
night where they had stopped. The old man finally came to the village 
late in the evening on the fourth day. He asked where he might be 
allowed to stay at night. They told him to go to the largest and tallest » 
tipi that he saw; that visitors were received there. He went on as he was 
told. When entering the tipi he was told to pass to the bed for guests 
and to be seated. Then he saw some of his children’s weapons. He 
began to think that his boys must have met death. He was given supper 
and was told that some one in the village had power to play the shinny 
game and no one else had power to win a game from him; that the 
first thing in the morning he would be called forth to the grounds to 
play a game of shinny. Early in the morning he went to the creek to 
take a bath. In those times this is the way they changed their feathers. 
Then he was called to the shinny game. When he was seen he was 
much younger than was expected. He wore the same kind of dress that 
the boys had worn, and was painted red. He went to the grounds to 
meet his foe. ‘They tossed the ball and the game commenced. ‘The 
old man saw how his boys had had a hard time playing with this man. 
Being old, he soon gave out and lost the game also. He was clubbed 
with a shinny club. The people were mean. The mean ones would 
dance over any one’s death; so the people danced and had all kinds of 
sports. 

At home, the old woman was alone. She remained at home by 
herself. Once on a time she went out to the creek and took a bath. 
When bathing, she heard some noise from the water. It was something 
like waves; but without further notice she went out of the water and 
went on home. It was not long until she found out that she was preg- 
nant, old as she was. It was but a little while till a child was born to 
her, who was a boy. The boy grew rapidly every day, until he became 
a young man. He asked the old woman why they were living alone. 
She told him that the rest of the family had left their home and had 
gone to the village of Fire-Light-like-Prairie-Fire, and she supposed 
that they had met death there. He told the old woman that he must 
in some way get over there and recover them. He made the journey, 
and it took him four days. When he arrived at the village he asked 
where he could stay for a night’s rest. He was then ordered to go to 


THE LITTLE BROWN HAWKS. 251 


the largest and highest tipi, where he might stay all night with the 
young man living there. He went as directed and walked in. He was 
ordered to go on where visitors were always seated, and there he sat 
down, and near him he saw his supposed brothers’ weapons. He was 
told that he, like the others, had to meet danger. He was then given 
supper. He ate and went to bed. Early next morning he went to the 
creek and took a bath, and on his return he was called to the shinny 
ground. He went over, having a shinny club of his own and a ball 
of his own. When both were at the grounds the boy that was visiting 
asked to have his ball used first, but they could not agree at all. His 
opponent asked that his own ball be used. ‘Then the boy asked that 
his club be used. They could not agree. Finally they agreed to use 
the ball that belonged to the visiting boy. He tossed the ball up and 
they both looked up to see where the ball fell. When the ball was 
tossed up, hail began to fall instead’of the ball coming down. All of 
the hail came down on Boy-setting-Grass-on-Fire-by-his-Footsteps and 
commenced to pelt him. It came on him alone and on no one else, and 
it killed him. After his death the young man commanded the hail 
to stop. They then took up the body of Boy-setting-Grass-on-Fire-by- 
his-Footsteps and brought wood to burn it up. In those days, when a 
man of this nature was burned, those whom he had killed would come 
to life while he was burning. So when they burned his body there were 
a good many men who came to life, coming out of the fire. Finally 
the four brothers and the old man came out. As the fire went out 
the young man who had killed his opponent commanded everybody 
who had come to life to return to wherever they were from. So the 
Swift-Hawks, with their father, went straight to where they had left 
their weapons and shields and went on home. It took them four days 
again to get home. When they reached home the old woman was glad 
to see them. They lived here a little longer. The old man told his sons 
that the things that had happened to them he feared might happen 
again. So he told them not to live longer as they were, but to go up 
in the air. They took a gourd full of water and poured it on the fire, 
and as the smoke went up they went up with it, and turned into Little- 
Brown-Hawks. 


252 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 
40. THE COYOTE WHO LOST HIS POWERS.* 


At the time when the Coyote (Ketox) saved the lives of many . 
people there were two villages, on in the east and the other in the west, 
situated some distance apart. The people of both villages were in the 
habit of going on the war-path, but on the return of their war-parties 
the conduct of the people in the east village was very different from 
that of the people in the west village. On the return of the war-parties 
from the east village the people had good times; but when a war-party 
returned to the west village there was crying, which, when it was heard 
at the east village, excited wonder, for the people in the east village 
knew that both villages were accustomed to sending out the same kind 
of parties. They thought it must be that the enemy met the war-parties 
of the west village and killed off all their men. | 

Once upon a time the Coyote resolved to visit this village, stay 
there until a war-party should go out, and find out why the people 
cried. He went to the village. A war-party was sent out, and the 
Coyote went along with them, to see what would happen to the men, 
so that he might find out why the people cried on the return of the 
war-party. They traveled all that day, and late in the evening the men 
stopped, and, there being so many of them, they gathered plenty of wood 
in a very short time. The Coyote noticed that the men cut some dog- 
wood. He wondered, and, to be like the rest, he began ‘to cut some dog- 
wood ‘himself, though he did not cut as much as did the others. The sun 
having set, the men made a fire. Then some one was heard to ask from 
a distance in the north, which was the way to the fire. So the man 
was directed the way to the fire. The Coyote wondered why the man 
should ask which way he should come. The Coyote was anxious to 
learn who the man was and why he had come. The man came up to 
the fire, and as soon as the Coyote saw him he was afraid of him, for 
he was dressed entirely different from any man that the Coyote had 
ever seen. His bonnet was red and hung down his back to the ground. 
Fringes of human hair hung from the sides of his legs and arms. Each 
of his legs was marked in front with four black dots like the eyes 
ofia human being. In his right hand he held a war-club. His name was 
Sign-that-the-Enemy-would-be-weakened (Hossednawa), a Shooting- 
Star. But when living as a human being he had great powers, some 
good and some bad. He was a sort of evil-spirited man. The dress 
which he wore was made of tanned hides and was finished with hair of 
a human being. When he walked it sounded like thunder and the 


*Told by Ignorant-Woman (Man) (Towakoni). 


THE COYOTE WHO LOST HIS POWERS. 253 


groaning of ‘human beings. On his moccasins were to be seen human 
eyes, which were looking at the warriors. As he stood by the fire it 
was seen that he had plenty of dogwood with him, the same as the 
other men. The Coyote wondered what they were going to do with 
the dogwood sticks. Then, one at a time, the men began to use the 
sticks to count how many times they had killed their enemies, and each 
stick counted one enemy. The number of sticks used by a man showed 
how many men he had killed. But the stranger could count beyond 
any of the others. Then the trouble began with the Coyote’s party. 
Whenever a man had told all his war-tales the stranger would kill him. 
This continued throughout the entire night. The Coyote wanted to be 
the last to enter into the contest. There were a good many in the war- 
party, but none of them could recount so many enemies killed as did the 
stranger. ‘She men became fewer and fewer. The Coyote was watching 
for daylight to come, for he had an idea that if daylight should come 
before it was his turn he would have a chance to escape the danger. 
There were a good many men lying dead around the camp-fire. The 
Coyote was beginning to learn why the people at the west village cried. 
The men became very few about daylight, but they kept on telling war- 
stories. Finally it was daylight, and the Coyote asked to be excused for 
a little while. As soon as he had got out he began to travel very fast, 
in order that he might report at the west village what was happening 
to the war-party. As he went further he met a man by the name of 
Little-Man (Thasikitse), one that existed in those times and are sup- 
posed to exist to-day, whom he asked to save him. Little-Man told the 
Coyote that he would receive him, and for him not to be troubled, for 
he himself had great powers and was not afraid of the strange man, 
although the strange man had blinded him so that he could not find his 
trail; that he was completely out of patience with his meanness; that 
he was going to give the Coyote power to kill the strange man. 
Little-Man gave the Coyote a bow and some arrows and told him that 
when he got to the west village he should ask for a dress to be made 
after the same fashion as that worn by the strange man, though buffalo 
hair might be used in imitation of the human hair; and that his mocca- 
sins should have eyes like those of the strange man’s. Little-Man also 
told the Coyote that when he should get ahead of the strange man in 
telling war stories, he (the Coyote) should tell him that he was going 
to kill him right there; that the strange man would then say: “Well, 
you have beaten me in this, but we are yet to contest in a foot-race ;” 
that when he should be asked by the strange man whether he preferred 
to race under the ground or above the ground he should reply unmis- 


254 . THE “MYTHOLOGY OF THE  WiCHITA, 


takably that he wanted to go on top of the ground; that by running on 
top of the ground he would beat the strange man to the goal; that when 
he should have beaten him he would be asked to spare his life in return 
for his powers, but that he (the Coyote) should kill the strange man, 
and not accept his powers. Little-Man also enjoined the Coyote that 
when he should have accomplished all he should not marry, lest by 
marrying he should lose his powers. Little-Man then said that when 
he should have killed the strange man he should gather into one pile 
the bodies and bones of those who had been killed of the men of his 
war-party ; that he should then gather plenty of wood and place it over 
the bodies and bones, then burn the wood; that when the wood should 
get to burning he should call to the men to come out of the fire; and 
that all the men who had been killed would come out right there. 
These were the instructions given to the Coyote. The Coyote told Little- 
Man he knew he could perform all this without making a mistake, for 
he was too old to make any bad mistake. The Coyote then went on 
straight to the west of the village. When he arrived there he went 
direct to the chief’s place and got the chief to call the people together 
at his place, for he had something to tell. The chief ordered a crier 
to tell the people to come to his place. Finally there was a great crowd | 
of people at the chief’s place, and when everybody was present the 
Coyote was invited to tell what he had to say. The Coyote said that he 
had come to their village to learn why the people of the village cried 
so often; that for this reason he had joined himself to the war-party 
that the people had ‘sent out; that as the war-party had come to the 
end of their journey they had met with trouble and had been killed ; 
that he was the only man to escape; that he wanted the people to get 
him buckskin or any other tanned hide which was good enough for 
leggings, shirt, and moccasins, and to make them for him; that he was 
going back to the place where the warriors had been killed and try to 
kill the man who had killed them, and, if possible, restore them to life 
and bring them home. Thus did the Coyote talk to the people, and the 
talk sounded good to them. Immediately the things for which he asked 
were brought, for the people were anxious to see the Coyote save all 
the men whom they had lost. Not only did they make the desired 
clothes, but they made the proper bonnet. So the things were made as 
the Coyote directed. After everything was finished, Little-Man gave to 
the clothing the real appearance of that of the strange man. The Coyote 
now told the people that he was going to the unsafe place where dire 
things happened when it was visited. He then journeyed to the place 
where everybody dies, to see if he too would be killed. He traveled 


THE COYOTE WHO LOST HIS POWERS. 255 


a good deal faster than he had traveled the first time, for the first time 
he knew not where the place was. At length he reached the place and 
mimicked the men of the war-party in getting plenty of wood to last 
all night and in getting dogwood sticks to count with. Of course he 
had come to the place early enough to have time to get plenty of wood. 
All being ready, it began to get dark. The Coyote heard the evil 
spirited man coming to visit his camp-fire. The Coyote told him to 
come straight-.to the place where he always came when anybody camped 
there. When the strange man came up, there sat his opponent, the 
Coyote, whose dress closely resembled his own. He was surprised to 
note this close resemblance. The Coyote sat on the east side of the fire 
and the strange man sat on the west side. They commenced to tell 
their war tales, and at first they came out even at the end of every 
round. All night they continued, till finally the strange man began to 
fall behind. The Coyote told more tales than did the strange man. 
The strange man told true stories, but the Coyote being known to tell 
what was not true, could tell more tales than any other man; his stories 
were not half true. At about daylight he had not told half of his war- 
stories, but his opponent then had to search a long time in recalling his 
war tales, and the Coyote would hurry him, and he said that he 
himself had not come there to meet any one whom it took so long to 
recall tales. Finally it got so that the strange man had to search a long 
time for his tales. The Coyote would add more tales, so that it was 
impossible for the strange man to catch up with him. Daylight came 
and the strange man had told all of his war tales. The Coyote rose, 
took his weapon and was ready to take the strange man’s life, when he 
told the Coyote that there was one more thing to be done before he 
could take his life. which was to run a race. He told the Coyote he 
might choose whether he would run on the top of the ground or under 
ground. The Coyote decided to race on top of the ground. At the 
south of them there was a high hill which was to be the goal. They 
commenced to run for the high point. It was agreed that whoever 
should get there first should be the winner. The strange man went 
under the ground and the Coyote went on top of the ground. The 
Coyote ran much faster than he had ever ran before, receiving his 
power from Little-Man. He ran very fast, and behind him he could 
hear the strange man coming under the ground. The Coyote finally 
succeeded in reaching the point first, and he noticed that the strange 
man had not yet arrived. So the Coyote got ready to take his life 
as soon as he should come out of the ground. Finally the strange man 
arrived at the place, and there was the Coyote, ready to meet him. 


256 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


The strange man begged the ‘Coyote to spare his life and offered him 
his powers. The Coyote refused, and killed the strange man with his 
bow and arrows. 

The Coyote now dragged the strange man to his camp-fire and 
began to gather all the human bones that were lying around the place. 
He placed them in one big pile. He then brought wood enough to burn 
them. All being ready he set fire to the wood, and there was a great 
fire. He began to call out all the names of the men who had been 
killed right at that place, and there came out men from the fire, one at 
a time, until the fire went out, and all the men had been restored to life. 

The Coyote was then with a crowd of men. He told the men to 
go to their homes, and those who were from his village he told to 
follow him. All started off, and the men wondered who this famous 
man might be that possessed powers greater than those of the strange 
man whom they knew to be famous and a dangerous man to attack; 
and who had killed the strange man. Finally, through the intervention 
of the Coyote, the men reached their homes. The chief of the village 
was surprised to see the return of those men whom he knew to have been 
killed, now restored to life. The chief ordered the servant to call the 
people together. The people came to the chief’s place, and some of the 
leading men asked him why he had called the people together. The 
chief replied that since some one had favored the people by restoring 
the lives of their warriors and had killed their enemy, he wanted to 
appoint that one head chief over him; that he wanted them to build for 
that one a new dwelling place; that it was only right that some of the 
men who had been at the dangerous place should offer their sister to 
the man who had restored their lives. The Coyote thought that to 
be a pretty good announcement, and it was just what he wanted. 
Little-Man had forbidden him to entertain the foolish idea of getting 
a wife and becoming a chief; nevertheless, the Coyote having killed 
the strange man, thought it safe to disregard the admonition of Little- 
Man. The chief made the announcement and the people thought it 
only right that they should do the Coyote the favor and let him remain 
with them at their village. The people began at once to build the 
Coyote a home, but they did not know that it was for the Coyote. The 
Coyote stayed with the chief while his home was being built. Little- 
Man saw that the Coyote was disobeying his orders by accepting these 
offers. Soon the people had completed the lodge for the Coyote, and 
the Coyote had wives. He moved into this new home that the people 
had given him in return for his good work. After he had moved into 
his new home the most prominent men came around his place to enter- 


THE BOY WHO LED WAR-PARTIES. 257 


tain him during the day and night; just as they used to entertain the 
chief. The old chief would come around to visit him, and so there was 
a great crowd of men around every day. The Coyote had enough wives 
to do the cooking for his visitors. ‘The Coyote’s wives some became 
pregnant. His powers began to leave him, and one night Little-Man 
sent a whirlwind to the Coyote’s place to take away all of the Coyote’s 
powers and leave him the same as he was at first, because he had dis- 
obeyed ‘his orders. After the Coyote and his wives had gone to sleep 
the whirlwind entered his lodge and took away everything that he had, 
and his powers, too. This was a punishment to the Coyote for not obey- 
ing the man who had given him powers. Early the next morning when 
the Coyote’s wives woke up they saw a coyote sleeping with them in 
the place of a human being. They screamed and woke the Coyote, and 
when the Coyote saw that he was no longer a human being he ran out 
and left the village forever. When he was out away from the village 
he cried because he had lost his powers. So, often when we hear the 
coyote crying, it means that he*is regretting his foolish disobedience 
which lost for him his powers. 

The village still existed, and finally the news that the Coyote had 
lost his powers and that he had left the village began to spread. The 
people began to learn that this famous man who had brought them to 
life was the Coyote. After the departure of the Coyote his wives began 
to have children, and the children were all coyotes. The brothers of 
the wives then had all the people take one each to their home for pets. 
The village still existed there, and every one lived happy after the 
Coyote had killed their enemy. 


41. THE BOY WHO LED WAR-PARTIES AND BECAME A HAWK.* 


' There was once a village, and in the village was a chief who had 
two boys. One of them was named Bad-Boy (Weksnakok), and he was 
the older one. The chief had great powers, like any prominent man of 
his day. He was a powerful warrior. Bad-Boy would not listen to his 
father’s instructions regarding his powers, and the younger son was too 
young to be given instruction regarding them. The father would set 
out on the war-path accompanied by many men who thought him to be 
a brave warrior, and that it was safe for them to be with him in time 
of war. When at home, the father would try to get Bad-Boy to remain 
at home, so that he could give him his powers; but Bad-Boy instead of 


*Told by Cheater (Wichita). 


258 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


staying at home, would go around to other places and about ash heaps 
and pick up what parched corn had been left after the corn had been 
parched and the ashes taken out, and he would eat it. When darkness 
came he would remain where he pleased, and sleep on the bare ground 
where there was no one living. Of course, Bad-Boy had a good home, 
but being a bad boy, he thought himself all right staying away from 
home. Whenever he saw his younger brother he would abuse him, and 
hurt his feelings, and the poor boy would return home crying. 
Finally the chief became tired of Bad-Boy’s doings and sent out 
word for everyone to come to his lodge. After his criers had made the 
announcement the people began to come around the chief’s lodge. When 
all were present, they asked the chief why he had called them. The chief 
announced to the people that if any one should see Bad-Boy among their 
lodges they should kill him or whip him, for he had done all kinds of 
mischief. All the men went to their homes. A man was selected to 
announce what the chief had requested them to do, and he went through 
the outskirts of the village, talking and telling what the chief had said in 
regard to Bad-Boy. The following night Bad-Boy heard the news that 
his father had given orders that his life should be taken, or that he 
should be whipped if he should be seen lying around anywhere. About 
midnight Bad-Boy went to his ‘home to sleep on hts bed, for he was 
afraid that they would surely take his life. The next morning, when 
the old folks were up, they noticed Bad-Boy in his bed. The following 
day Bad-Boy was rather quiet. He asked his father to instruct him 
regarding the war bundle that he had always offered to give him. The 
old chief took down the bundle, with everything in it, shield, quiver, 
bow and arrows, tobacco-pouch and war-club, the whole bundle being 
called War-secrets-Bundle (Narwitstanaseh). Everything was spread 
before Bad-Boy. The thing that was spread before him was a shield, 
and in this shield was a stuffed hawk, in each of whose feet was a scalp; 
one white soft feather, and tobacco-pouch with black stone pipe in it, 
this pouch being a stained skunk hide. The chief then told Bad-Boy 
that if he wanted to set out at any time on the war-path, or if he wanted 
to attack his enemy in their village, he should use the scalp in the left 
foot of the stuffed hawk; and if he wanted to attack them out in the 
wilderness he should use the scalp that was in the right foot of the 
stuffed hawk; that before going out on any expedition he must first 
go to some man whom he wanted to go along as Second-leading- 
warrior, having his pipe filled with tobacco; before entering, he must 
ask if the man whom he wanted was present in the lodge, and if present 
he should ask him to come out; then he should take off his robe and 


THE BOY WHO LED WAR-PARTIES. 259 


ask the man to stand; then spread the robe on the ground and ask the 
man to be seated, then offer the pipe to the man and ask him to 
smoke, then he should tell him the object of his visit, saying that he was 
willing to serve under the man; that after all this the man whom Bad- 
Boy had selected for Second-leading-warrior would ask him about what 
time he wanted to start, and if he wanted to leave within a few days he 
must leave the order with him to select another Second-leading-warrior, 
who should serve with him under the leader. The Second-leading- 
warrior who should be selected first should be on the right side of the 
leader, the other on his left. After leaving home he must, while camp- 
ing for the night, have the wood for the fire arranged east and west, 
and he should face the south toward the open space, having his two 
men, one on his right, the other on his left, and his other men all in 
a circle, on his right and at his left. 

When all this should be arranged, he must open his war bundle, 
having his things lying before him; must have his tobacco-pouch open, 
when the Second-leading-warrior would fill his pipe with tobacco and 
hand it to him; the same man should then rise and have with him a piece 
of dry wood, small in size, and light the pipe with it. Pains must be 
taken in these performances, when after the pipe should be lighted, he 
was to make his offering to the star-gods. After doing this he should 
hand the pipe back to the same man that had made the smoke for him, 
and after having the pipe, he must rise, leaving his seat and going 
toward the south, then around the fire, and offer it to the one on the 
left side. The leader then must pass it on to all the men and have them 
smoke. After the tobacco should be gone, his man should empty the 
ashes out of the pipe before him, which is called “dahanenornehuanadis- 
saeh,” the pipe being emptied with the pipe stick, the mouth of the pipe 
facing him. After this should be done, if there should be anything to 
eat, he must have one of these men get a bunch of grass, lay it before 
him for the food, and there must be a separate fire made on the south 
side of the main fire for cooking. After the food should be cooked, 
no one should be allowed to eat until he should have made his offering. 
After making the offering, he himself must eat the food first, and if 
there should be anything left it was to be passed on by the man on the 
right side, the same as should have been done by the man on the left 
side with the tobacco. Then they must all begin to eat, and cook some 
extra food, until they should get what they required. If he should want 
to smoke again, he should have the man on his left perform the same 
as the first one, and after making his offering this time, must have the 
man rise and pass to the one on the right and offer him the smoke, then 


260 THE MYTHOLOGY CE THE WICHITA: 


go around in the opposite direction instead of passing it around like 
the first one did—north, east, south, and west—but this time he should 
go from north to the west, south and east. After the smoking should 
be over, he must have his man empty the pipe the same as before. He 
must send out his two men before daylight, to see if they were near to 
some enemy; he must have his choice whether to attack the enemy in 
the village or in the open; and if his men should come back, having 
seen the enemy, they must come back running, having painted their 
backs with burnt grass, and bring the news to him. ‘Then he should 
ask the two spies to tell him all about what they had seen; and after 
they should tell it, it would be his place to command his men to fix 
themselves up and be ready for war. In dressing himself he must wear 
the white soft feather on his head and take his war-club, shield, bow 
and arrows. He was told how he must be painted with white clay, and 
that it should always be his luck to find the enemy without being seen. 
These were the instructions that Bad-Boy received from his father, 
when he asked his father to give him the powers that he had before 
offered him. 

Bad-Boy kept all the things to himself, and therefore on the next 
morning he was asked to go to the creek and take a bath, then paint 
himself up, before he should try to get some one to serve under him. 
He was told that whenever he did this he must choose a foggy day— 
the kind of a day chosen by a man of great powers before sending out 
a war-party. Bad-Boy took a notion to send out a war-party one 
foggy day. He took his pipe, filled it with tobacco, and went on his 
way to select a man whom he wanted to serve under him. Arriving at 
a certain man’s lodge, he called and asked if the man was there. Then 
Bad-Boy entered the lodge and requested the man to rise, which he did. 
Bad-Boy spread his robe on the ground and asked the man to sit on it. 
Bad-Boy then took his pipe and offered it. When the man took the 
pipe Bad-Boy lighted it and asked the man to smoke, saying: “I want 
you to serve under me on the war-path.” The man accepted the pipe 
and asked Bad-Boy when he wanted to start. Bay-Boy told him that 
he wanted to wait a few days before starting. Bad-Boy then returned 
to his home. All that day he was quiet. On that night he took a notion 
to go somewhere else. Bad-Boy, bad boy as he was, thought that he 
had better be somewhere else, and show his powers. On the following 
day he left his home without telling his parents and his man who was 
to go along with him on the war-path. He traveled all that night and 
the next day until late in the evening, when he saw a village. He saw 
also, a cave-like pass, in which he left his things. ‘Then he went into 


THE BOY WHO LED WAR-PARTIES. 261 


the village, where he saw a good many young people playing the game 
of shinny. When the boys saw him they began to call him, “Bad-Boy, 
where did you come from?” He went into the first tipi he came to and 
there he found an old man, old woman, and a small boy. He was asked 
to go to a better place, but he refused to leave, and soon he began to do 
the same things that he had done when he was in his father’s village, 
going around the village and picking up parched corn that had been 
thrown away. Sometimes some people would invite him to eat with 
them ; and whenever he ate he would save some for the folks with whom 
he was living. They all knew him to be the chief’s son, and a bad boy; 
so that there were times that the boys of the village played a good many 
jokes on him, and had much fun with him. 

It being their habit to wander around, the time came when all 
moved from their village, going out on a big hunt. They all traveled 
on foot and carried their provisions along. ‘The people whom Bad- 
Boy lived with all went on this long journey with the people. Bad-Boy 
went along until they were a long way from the village, when ‘he 
thought of his war things, and commenced to think whether or not to 
turn back and go after them. Finally he thought he had better turn 
back and go after them. He turned right around, went back to the 
village, and to the place where he had left his war things. When he 
got his things he dressed himself and went on, following the people on 
the hunt. He traveled on and on until he overtook them. Bad-Boy 
then went on the south of the people, where he met a group of young 
women, who began to call to him and ask what he had and where he 
got his things. He followed the young women, having a club. They 
laughed at him and made fun of him; so that he pretended to be angry, 
and told them that if any one of them should make fun of him again he 
would have to club her. He kept driving them on, until he had driven 
them away from the hunting party. Then he said to them: “Let us 
set out on the war-path.” ‘The young women were willing. They made 
a camp, and Bad-Boy shot a deer before night, so that they had deer 
meat for supper. He got the women to tan the deer hide so that he 
could make a quiver for one of the young women. He finished it that 
night. He followed the instructions that his father had given him, but, 
instead of having men, he had women to perform for him; but, that it 
might not be known how ignorant he was, he had to instruct the two 
women. The next day they started out and continued to travel for 
fourteen or fifteen days, and every evening they camped. Bad-Boy 
killed deer and made quivers out of the hides, besides making bows and 
arrows for the young women to equip them for war. Every time they 


262 THE "MYTHOLOGY OF THE, WICHITA: 


camped the two women, Second-leading-warriors, had to go through 
the tobacco rite. It was rather hard for women to do such things, but 
they did it the best they could. Bad-Boy did not know much about it 
himself, except what he was told by his father, but he went through the 
rites properly. 

The time came when Bad-Boy told the women warriors that he 
was going out spying, and he predicted that they should fight out in the 
open. Bad-Boy was always a good runner, and so he traveled fast, 
until he came to a small hill, and as he went slowly he saw some one 
coming toward him. He turned back to carry the news to his warriors. 
He had told them that if they should see him come on the run they 
would know that he had spied the enemy, and that they were to form 
in a circle and have an open place for him to enter, so that he might take 
his place and sit down. When he was seen by the women they formed 
in a circle and left an open space for him to enter. He came nearer and 
nearer, gave a whoop, and said: “I have seen it!’ When he came 
where the women were, all seated themselves on the ground and he sat 
down and whispered to the one on the right side, and asked her to ask 
him how he traveled and how he had found the enemy. Then he turned 
to the one on his left and asked her to question him as to what sort 
of luck he had had while out spying, and asked them to ask him for the 
full story of his spying. (It is a rule that when a man goes out for 
such a purpose he has to tell everything the has seen.) Bad-Boy told 
all about his journey, and how he had seen the enemy. He then whis- 
pered to both, and asked them to ask him what he thought of it all, 
and the women asked him what he thought of it. He told his women 
warriors that it was his intention to go to this enemy he had seen. They 
at once rose and went on their way in the direction in which Bad-Boy 
had seen the enemy coming. They had to conceal themselves so as not 
to allow their enemy to see them first. They finally found the enemy. 
They saw him coming down a creek, and they awaited him under a little 
high place. Bad-Boy then ordered his warriors to follow him just as 
soon as he should start to run after this man. Bad-Boy made a quick 
dash and went to meet the enemy, the Trickster, and his women war- 
riors were right behind. The Trickster came to meet them, and fought 
them, for it was better to fight than to run. Bad-Boy’s intention was 
to club him on the head with the club he had, instead of shooting, but 
the enemy fought them by shooting arrow after arrow, until Bad-Boy 
got near enough to club him; then he clubbed him and took off his 
scalp. Then they all turned back, traveling faster and faster, in order 
to go a good way off when the other enemy should start after them. 


THE COYOTE AND THE WARRIOR. 263 


Once on the way to the village it did not take them long to get home. 
In the meantime the rest of the hunting party had returned to the 
village. The war-party traveled fast every day, going straight, and they 
soon got to the place called Place-where-returning-victorious-War- 
party-halted (Nasaquatowene). When the people returned from vic- 
tories the signal of victory was given to the people of the village at this 
place, by turning back twice, so that when some one was seen at this 
place the people said to themselves: “Who can that be? It is some of 
our people.” The men went out to meet them, and there was Bad- 
Boy’s female war-party. 

Bad-Boy then entered the village, and the people praised this war- 
party. When night came, the people danced all night in honor of Bad- 
Boy. The prominent men of the village considered him a good boy, 
and the rest of the people admired him. Then the people whom he 
was living with received highest compliments for having kept him, and 
the people carried food to them and made their lodge more comfortable. 
Bad-Boy sent out many more war-parties, but of men instead of women ; 
and he lived with these people until he grew old. Bad-Boy remained 
single all his life. When an old man, he called forth all the people, 
and when they had come they asked him what he had to say to them. 
He said to the people that he had been living a long time with them, 
known as Bad-Boy, a warrior, and now as one of their chiefs; and now, 
on account of his age, and having been a warrior for a long time, he 
was going to leave them and become something else. He asked them if 
they also felt like doing the same thing. He also said that some time 
during the next generation he was going to take pity on some one and 
give him his great powers. While Bad-Boy was before a great multi- 
tude of people he flew away as a Hawk. 


42. THE COYOTE AND THE WARRIOR.* 


The Coyote (Ketox) lived in a village, but wandered from one 
place to another. One day he went toward the east, and when he was 
far away from home he saw a man. He asked the man where he was 
going, and he told the Coyote that he was going out on the war-path. 
The Coyote asked if he could go along. ‘The man told him that he 
could go if he was brave. The Coyote said: “Man, you do not know 
me. I am the bravest man you have ever seen. You will learn what 
sort of man I am when we meet some of our enemies.” The man re- 
membered that he had often heard that the Coyote was a big coward, 


*Told by Ignorant-Woman (Man) (Towakoni). 


264 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE (WICHITA. 


but told the Coyote he was the kind of a man he wanted to have with 
him. They went on, and late in the evening the man told the Coyote 
that they were going to stop for a night’s rest at a place called Where- 
Scalped-Man-sits-by-the-Fire (Tesahitatsak). The man noticed how 
frightened the Coyote was when he heard about sleeping at such a 
place. Before camping they killed a buffalo for food. The Coyote was 
so greedy that he made the man do all the cooking so that he could eat 
first. After eating the most of the meat they rested a little, then the 
Coyote cooked some meat for himself. He took the heart and cut off 
some pieces from the largest part, then he leaned backward and found 
himself lying down. Taking the largest part of the heart ‘he found that 
it fitted his knee. So he took the heart and put it over his knee. Then 
he felt like sleeping a little, and so he went to sleep. When he awoke 
he thought he saw a Scalped-Man (Tesakiwetsa) sitting right before 
him. Without rising he took his club to strike the Scalped-Man on the 
head. He drew back the club to strike, and when he struck he found 
that he had hit his own knee. He got up, grunted, and rolled around 
for a while, and the man learned what the Coyote had done to himself. 
“Surely,” said the Coyote, “I thought there was a Scalped-Man sitting 
by me.” The Coyote’s knee pained him very much, and that night it 
swelled up. | 

The next day when they started on, the man told the Coyote the 
place where they would next camp all night was at a place called Where- 
cooked-Meat-flies-around (Adusadiaqua). The man asked the Coyote 
how his knee was. He replied’ that it was feeling better and was not 
quite so sore. The next day they traveled until night, when they came 
to Where-cooked-Meat-flies-around. When the sun had set and dark- 
ness was coming on, something began to fly around. ‘The Coyote knew 
he could catch some of the things. ‘When they had caught all they 
wanted the meat stopped flying around. They sat up for a while and 
the man told the Coyote that the next place they would stay all night 
was called Where-Arrows-fly-around (Niquatsnahidias). The Coyote, 
perceiving that the place was full of danger, began to complain of his 
sore leg hurting him. The next morning they started for this place, 
and the Coyote said that his knee was hurting him pretty badly. He 
lagged along behind the man and began to make excuses so that he 
would not have to go to the dangerous place. Toward evening the 
Coyote’s knee became worse and they stopped to rest. They built their 
campfire, and as soon as it was dark the arrows began to fly around 
them, some of which the man caught. The Coyote kept dodging for 
fear of being shot, and on this account the arrows began to come closer 
to him, but he kept dodging. He dodged so much that he was finally 


THE COYOTE AND THE WARRIOR. 265 


hit in the arms, and he thought that he was killed. The man kicked 
his feet and told him to get up. The Coyote rubbed his eyes and said: 
“T have been sleeping too hard.” The arrows ceased to fly around. They 
ate supper and the man asked the Coyote how his knee was. The 
Coyote said that it was sore from the long journey. While they were 
eating the man told the Coyote that the next place they were to stop 
was called Where-Women-visit-the-Men (Niyahadnawas). The Coyote 
then said: “1 am getting a little better; I wish we were at that place 
now. What time do you think we will get there?” The Coyote wished 
the next day might come quickly, and he lay awake most of the night 
wishing that he were already there. The next morning the Coyote did 
all the cooking and said that his knee did not hurt him. Again they 
went on, with the Coyote in the lead, who asked the man why he could 
not keep up with him. They traveled all that day until evening, then 
they camped for the night. The Coyote kept waiting for the women to 
come around. Finally two women came, one to the Coyote and one to 
the man. The Coyote thought that by cooking some tripe and eating it 
with the woman he would find out whether she were young or old. He 
cooked the tripe and gave it to the woman, and she ate it. He dis- 
covered from the noise she made that she was not a young woman, and 
so he told her to leave him as she was too old. The woman arose and 
took her apparel, which rattled like that of a young woman, and the 
Coyote saw he had made a mistake and that she was a young woman. 
She got up and walked off, and the Coyote followed her and asked if 
she was going out for a moment, ‘but the woman did not pay any atten- 
tion to him. She left, not to return, but the Coyote thought there would 
be some more women coming around. Atter scivit quid mali Coyote 
sibi admisisset puellam dimittendo, et mulierem quae ad se venerat 
totam noctem retinebat. Jam Coyote suae stultitiae paenituit quod 
mulierem dimisisset, et quae gaudia perdidisset cogitabat. Non dor- 
miebat sed hominem intuebatur, sperans fore ut ad concumbendum cum 
eius muliere vocaretur. Ille autem non vocavit. Coyote usque ad lucem 
mulierem expectabat. Frustra; illa iam exierat. After breakfast the 
man said the next place they would stop for the night was called Where- 
War-clubs-fly-around (Hakstihidihaukstinahidias). Learning of the 
dangers of this place, the Coyote’s leg began to pain him again, and he 
lagged behind. The man told him to hurry on and walk with him, but 
the Coyote’s leg hurt him pretty badly. They traveled on the entire 
day, until late in the evening, when they again camped. When they 
were eating supper they began to hear war-clubs flying around. They 
became thicker and thicker, and the ‘Coyote began to dodge them, al- 
though the man had told him not to dodge, for if he did he would get 


266 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


struck. ‘The Coyote kept dodging the clubs, and finally one of them 
hit him on the head. The man kept on the lookout for the best ones. 
He got hold of one that he thought was a good club, and another he 
got for the Coyote, but the Coyote was lying on the ground, dead. 
Having secured two clubs the other clubs began to cease to fly around. 
The man kicked the Coyote’s feet and told him to get up. The Coyote 
got up, rubbed his eyes, and said he ‘had been sleeping too hard. The 
man now reminded the Coyote that he had told him there was no danger 
of being hit with the clubs if he did not dodge, and that the weapons 
were for their assistance when they should reach the enemy. Dum ibi 
sedebant, homo Coyote docebat stationem proximam suam Jatsnahidios 
futuram esse, id est, locum volvarum volitantium. Iterum proficiscun- 
tur. Jam Coyote iter facere sine dolore poterat, quod ad eum locum 
pervenire cupiebat. Coyote ab homine quaesivit quales volvae essent, 
variarumne magnitudinum essent. Homo respondit eas variarum mag- 
nitudinum esse. Ille quaesivit possentne sine mulieritbus volitare. Hic 
eas posse respondit. The Coyote slept little and watched for daylight 
to come, so that they could start for the place. In the morning the man 
asked the Coyote about his knee, and the Coyote said that it was feel- 
ing all right. They started on and the Coyote was in good condition 
to walk, and left the man behind. They traveled until late in the even- 
ing, then camped. They cooked supper and then began to eat. Dum 
cenabant, quaedam res volitare incipiebant. Hae tam numerosae erant 
ut Coyote os saepe ferirent; madidaeque videbantur. Coyote autem 
unam ex eis prehendere non paterat. Itaque, pharetra vacuefacta, eas 
prehendere conabatur. Eas interea variarum magnitudinum esse sentie- 
bat. Vix tandem unam pharetra prehendit. Quam prehensam membro 
virili traicere conatus non poterat. The man kept laughing at the 
Coyote. Now they sat by the fire. The man told the Coyote that they 
were coming to the real place the next time they camped, for they were 
coming to a place Where-Enemies-attack-their-Foes (Hidiokidiodes). 
Now they started again, and the Coyote’s knee began to pain him, for 
he knew they were coming to the last place, and he thought it would be 
no fun when the enemy should get after him. The Coyote’s knee hurt 
him worse than ever. He stayed behind his partner, but they kept on 
traveling. When the man got ahead of the Coyote he stopped and 
waited until he came up, and then they started again. They traveled 
till late in the evening and again camped for the night. The Covote’s 
knee hurt him pretty badly, and it pained him all that night, for he knew 
they were to be attacked the next morning. The next morning when 
they started off they found themselves surrounded by the enemy and 


THE END OF THE TRICKSTER-CHEATER. 267 


they were attacked by them. The Coyote tried to run, but the enemy 
ran after him and killed him. Before starting, the man had told the 
Coyote not to run, that they had as much courage as had the enemy, 
but the Coyote was so much of a coward that he forgot all about this 
and ran away from his partner and was killed. After the fight the man 
went to see where the Coyote was. He found him lying on the ground, 
dead, and scalped by the enemy. The man again kicked the Coyote on 
the feet and told ‘him to get up. Then ‘he came to life and got up and 
ran again, and this time he ran away from the man and never met him 
again. The Coyote was so scared by the attack of the enemy that it 
made him wild. The man returned to his home. This man was a 
Chicken-Hawk (Ikataskiiyes). 


43. THE END OF THE TRICKSTER-CHEATER.* 


There were once people living in a village ruled by an old man. 
The old man had a wife, daughter, and four sons. The old man and 
his wife became blind, and in this way the boys came to be at the head 
of the village, and this was their home, and the people were their peo- 
ple. They would sometimes go on the war-path against their enemies, 
the Tricksters (Kinos), and would come home victorious with many 
captured people and would ‘hold their captives as prisoners; and this 
was their business. Sometimes they would go hunting, wandering 
around over the country, and came back with plenty of meat. They 
always made their hunting trips in the fall. 

Once upon a time the four brothers, the chiefs of the village, 
called their people to meet at their place, and when the people had 
gathered around the place they announced that they wanted to go out 
on a hunting trip for a while, and that the people should be ready in 
four days. ‘The people waited for four days to pass. Before the fourth 
day came, the father of these four chiefs told them that it was useless 
for him, his wife, and daughter to go along, and that they wished to 
be moved into a safe place near to water and timber; and so the chiefs 
had them moved to a place where the old man intended to stay until 
the return of the hunters. 

When four days had passed, the people began to move out; and, of 
course, in those times the people traveled on foot on any expedition. 
All of the people left the village, so there was nothing left but grass- 
lodges and tipis. When all had left, the enemies came about and went 
all through the village, but found no one. Among the enemy, who 


*Told by Ahahe (Waco). 


268 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


were called Trickster-Spies (Kinas-Kitikeahara), was one who went to 
the outskirts of the village, found the old folks and their daughter 
living in the timber, and noticed that both of the old folks were blind, 
and that they had a good-looking girl. He thought to himself: “What 
must I do? If I should call the rest of the men they might kill the old 
folks and take the girl.” He concluded to keep his discovery a secret, 
so he went back to the rest of the warriors, and when he got there 
they all left the place and returned to their homes. When they had gone 
a good way off, the Trickster-Spy left the crowd and returned to where 
he saw the old people and their daughter, with the expectation of marry- 
ing the girl. While on the way he killed a buffalo and took the meat 
to where the folks were living. When he arrived at the place he stopped 
by a tree, and when the girl stepped out, he made a motion for her to 
come to him and pointed to the place where the meat lay. But the girl 
went back into the tipi, telling her father that she had seen some one out- 
side near by, making motions for her to come to him and pointing ‘to 
the ground. The old man asked the girl what kind of a looking man he 
was, and she described the man just the way he looked to her. She 
said that the man was large, with dark complexion and had his ‘hair 
tied behind. The old man repeated the words of the girl and said: 
“Surely we are found by our enemies and are in danger.” The Trick- 
ster-Spy kept making motions to the girl to come to him. She again 
told her father that the man was still making motions for her to come 
to him, and pointing to the ground. The girl noticed something on the 
ground. She told her father again, and said she saw something in front 
of the man. Her father finally told her to go over and see what he 
wanted, saying: “It may be that he wants to make up some kind of 
friendship.” She went over, and when she had got there she saw a 
pile of fresh meat lying on the ground, and the man asked her to take 
the meat to where her folks lived. But on account of it being too heavy 
for her to carry the man took the meat, put it on his back again and 
made motions for her to go back to her folks’ tipi, and when she started 
he followed her with the meat. They both entered the tipi and the 
Trickster-Spy delivered the beef to the folks. After entering the tipi, 
the old man told his wife and daughter to do whatever the Trickster- 
Spy should ask. The Trickster-Spy having great powers, knew what 
the old man was talking about, and so he made up his mind to remain 
there and marry the girl. So the Trickster-Spy and the girl became 
man and wife. When the old man’s daughter became the wife of the 
Trickster-Spy he had to communicate with signs. The old man told 
his son-in-law that he had four sons and that they were out hunting 


THE END OF THE TRICKSTER-CHEATER. 269 


with his people, and that they were chiefs, and the Trickster-Spy was 
asked to look out for them at any time. In the meantime he would go 
around hunting for game, and having great powers he always brought 
home meat. When out somewhere, if he should happen to see some of 
his enemies about to see him he would turn into something else, such 
as a deer or coyote, and this is the way he wandered around. Once 
in a great while he would look over the hill to see if his brothers-in-law 
were coming. One day as he went over the hill to see if he could see 
any one, he saw four men coming, and a large crowd of people following 
them. When he saw this he turned right back to where he was living 
and told his wife that he had seen a great many people coming. Then 
he lay down on the bed, covering his head with a robe. The. Trickster- 
Spy’s wife told her father and mother that their boys were coming 
home; that they would be in before night. Not very long afterward the 
people were heard coming into their homes, and the boys, the four 
chiefs, returned to their home. 

On their arrival they saw some one else at their home, lying in 
their sister’s bed. After they had all arrived the old man told his sons 
that they had a stranger living with them and that he was their brother- 
in-law, and that he had kept them alive by hunting and had been good 
to them, and for this reason they would have to allow him to live with 
them. The chiefs were satisfied with their brother-in-law, because he 
had taken care of their people, and so the Trickster-Spy lived with 
these people for a long time. The time came when the wife of the 
Trickster-Spy had a boy, whom they called Son-of-the-Trickster-Spy. 
After this child was born Trickster-Spy would always take him along 
hunting. Once upon a time as the Trickster-Spy was out hunting, 
he noticed that the boy was pretty heavy, for he had been growing 
rapidly. So the Trickster-Spy came to a large tree, climbed up in it 
and left his child there ; but before he left, he took the child and painted 
him with white clay from the shoulders to the top of his head; then 
he started on. It happened that some of his own people, the Trickster- 
Spies, came along and knew his ways, and besides, ever since he had lived 
with his new wife he had sent out war-parties against his own people; 
so when they came to this tree they saw something up in it, and found 
that it was a child. They knew that it was some of the Trickster- 
Spy’s work, and therefore took the child down and at once started back 
home. It was early in the day when they fourid the child. Late that 
afternoon the Trickster-Spy came back to where the child had been 
and found that some of his own people had taken it. He at once 
started to trail the people; having great powers, he could travel as fast 


270 THE MY LHOGEGGY Ory Dirks W ICE Tat 


as he wanted to. At night he overtook them. He went ahead of them, 
and when he came to a small hollow he stepped to one side, and when 
the Trickster-Spies came along with the boy he joined the party. The 
people did not know that he was among them, and passed the boy 
from one to another, as they in turn became tired. ‘The Trickster-Spy 
did most of the talking about passing around the child. Finally his 
time came to carry the child on his back. When his turn came he went 
but a short distance with the crowd and stepped to one side, letting 
them go on. He then turned back at once, traveling fast, so as not 
to be overtaken. He was a good way off when the people found out 
that he had already been with them and they began to ask one of 
another: “‘Who has got the child?’ When they found that no one 
present had the child they began to say: “Surely the Trickster-Spy 
must have been in the crowd and must have his child, and perhaps he 
has carried it back to his home.” ‘That night he was a long way from 
the Trickster-Spies, so that they did not follow him, and on the next — 
day he reached home. 

The Trickster-Spy’s child grew rapidly, but his father still con- 
tinued to take him on his hunting trips, and when he got old enough 
the child had as great powers as his father. The Trickster-Spy trained 
his child by carrying him along on his hunting trips, giving him some 
powers as he had them. He finally had to leave the boy at home, for 
he was too heavy to carry, but the Trickster-Spy continued to go out 
on his hunting trips against his own people. He lived with the four 
chiefs for a long while, until he made trouble by beating his wife, when 
he escaped and fled to his own people, leaving his wife and boy. This 
made Son-of-the-Trickster-Spy angry at his father, and he looked for 
him that he might kill him. The boy, having the same kind of powers 
as his father, fooled a good many people, working all kinds of schemes. 
There were times that some of the enemies would see him, but he 
would turn into something else, such as a deer, coyote or any other 
living animal. The people finally sent out a war-party against the 
Trickster-Spies. When they were on the way, Son-of-the-Trickster- 
Spy went out to spy; but in the meantime, the Trickster-Spies had sent 
out a war-party against their enemies, so the Trickster-Spy and Son-of- 
the-Trickster-Spy were spying against each other’s people; and when 
both saw each other they went in opposite directions, going but a short 
distance and around the hills, and there they met again. The son 
turned into a deer, as also did the father, but each was somewhat afraid 
to meet the other, so they left each other for their parties. Son-of-the- 
Trickster-Spy told his people that while he was out spying he met some 
one whom he thought was his father. When he told his story he said: 


THE END OF .THE TRICKSTER-CHEATER, 271 


“When I was on the lookout for foes I turned into a deer, but I met 
another deer, and when I met this deer I was afraid. Then I found 
that it was my father who was trying to fool me, because I am always 
looking out for him to kill him, and he knows that I am going to take his 
life, as he is after my life. The war-party withdrew and returned to 
their home. Son-of-the-Trickster-Spy continued looking for his father 
to kill him. It happened that while on a hunting trip he accidentally 
saw some one who had killed some game, but when he saw this man 
he had to keep himself pretty well concealed, so that the man would not 
see him. At the point where the man was there was a small hollow. 
When the Son-of-the-Trickster-Spy went into this place he found there 
his enemy and decided to attack him, and he already knew that it was 
his father. Right by the side of Son-of-the-Trickster-Spy were some 
small bushes, from which he jumped, having turned into a big buck 
deer. He ran into the woods, then turned back into a small hollow, and 
followed it up until he came to where his father was. His father, when 
he found him again, was still looking in the direction the buck had 
gone, facing the other way. So he at once went for his father, and 
before his father knew what was to happen to him his son attacked him 
and killed ‘him. 

Son-of-the-Trickster-Spy, after killing his father, took his scalp 
and returned to his home with all the war material that his father had 
had. When he got home he turned over to his people the scalp and 
other things, telling them he had killed his father, and that was all he 
wanted to do. When this scalp was turned over to the people they had 
all kinds of dances, for joy, on account of the killing of one of their 
main enemies; for the Trickster-Spy was the meanest enemy they had, 
and they had never been able to kill him. This ends the story of one 
of the most noted men of the Trickster-Spies. 


44. THE COYOTE, PRAIRIE-TURTLE, AND SQUIRREL.* 


Once on a time the Prairie-Turtle (Kikeskatoshkeyosh) went to a 
creek, and the creek was swollen, so that he could not get across. He 
wished that some one would take him across. There were some Buffalo 
crossing the creek, and the Prairie-Turtle sat there waiting for one of 
the Buffalo to ask him if he wanted to be taken across. Finally there 
came one Buffalo and asked him what ‘he was saying. 

The Prairie-Turtle said: ‘“O, nothing. I just wanted some one 
to be kind enough to take me across this deep water.” The Buffalo 


*Told by Dragging-Enemies-from-the-River-Bank (Towakoni), 


272 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


said: “I will take you across if you will get between my hoofs.” The 
Prairie-Turtle said that the Buffalo might step on him. The Buffalo 
said: “Well, get on my back and we will cross the creek.” But the 
Prairie-Turtle said: “O, no, you might shake yourself in the middle 
of the water and throw me off and drown me.” ‘The Buffalo then 
asked him to ride between his horns, but still the Prairie-Turtle would 
not ride, but said that the Buffalo might shake his head and knock him 
off. ‘The Buffalo finally decided to let the Prairie-Turtle ride over in 
his anus. “Well,” said the Buffalo, “you could get into my anus if 
you would behave yourself while in there.” The Prairie-Turtle said 
to the Buffalo that it would be more safe for him to get in there than 
any place else, so the Buffalo backed up against a high bank where 
the Prairie-Turtle was sitting, and the Prairie-Turtle crawled into the 
Buffalo’s anus. While they were on the way over the water the Prairie- 
Turtle began to eat a part of the intestines of the Buffalo, and the 
Buffalo asked him what he was eating. The Prairie-Turtle told ‘him 
that he was eating something that he had brought along with him. 
Just as soon as the Buffalo got across and went a little way he fell to 
the ground dead. The Prairie-Turtle began to wonder how he could 
get out, now that the Buffalo was dead. Finally he ate through the 
flank of the Buffalo, and in that way the got out. He said aloud: “I 
wish I had a knife so that I could butcher my Buffalo that I have killed.” 

The Coyote (Ketox) heard this, although he was a long way 
from where the Buffalo was lying. After a little while the Prairie- 
Turtle saw the Coyote coming down the hill, running to find where 
the sound had come from when some one had called for a knife. The 
Coyote then said: “Well, my friend, were you not calling for a knife 
to butcher a Buffalo?” The Prairie-Turtle said: “No, I was not calling 
for a knife to butcher a Buffalo, but I was calling for a knife to cut 
arrows.’ But the Coyote had already seen the Buffalo, and asked the 
Prairie-Turtle what that was lying down on the ground. The Prairie- 
Turtle told him that it was his robe. The Coyote asked the Prairie- 
Turtle why his robe had horns. The Prairie-Turtle then asked the 
Coyote if he had never had a robe that had horns. The Coyote then 
asked why his robe had hoofs on it. ‘Well,’ said the Prairie-Turtle, 
“did not you ever have a robe that had hoofs on it?” The Coyote again 
said that the robe had a tail on it. “Well,” said the Prairie-Turtle, 
“did you never have a robe that had a tail?’ The Coyote kept asking 
a lot of questions, and finally the Prairie-Turtle said that he had killed 
the Buffalo; that he wished that some one would come around with a 
knife. The Coyote was the very man the Prairie-Turtle was looking - 
for. “Well,” said the Coyote to the Prairie-Turtle, “let us butcher 


THE COYOTE, PRAIRIE-TURTLE, AND SQUIRREL. CN pe 


the beef, and I will take half, for the work I do, and give you the 
remainder.” “All right,” said the Prairie-Turtle, so they commenced 
to butcher the Buffalo. When they were through butchering, the Coy- 
ote said to the Prairie-Turtle: ‘Partner, let us have a foot-race, and let 
the loser of the race go without meat, and eat the blood that is left on 
the ground.” The Coyote told the Prairie-Turtle that if he would not 
race that he would take the meat anyhow, so that the only way to have 
a little more fun out of this was to have a foot-race. The poor Prairie- 
Turtle had to run the race or lose everything. ‘The Coyote told the 
Prairie-Turtle that he would give him the start. Their goal was to be 
where they had the meat, and the first one to jump over the meat was 
to have it all. They ran the race, and the poor Prairie-Turtle, of course, 
lost. The Coyote said to the Prairie-Turtle: “Well, partner, you can 
stay here and watch my meat while I go after my wife and children, 
and when I come back I shall give you some of the meat anyway.” 
The Prairie-Turtle agreed to remain there until the Coyote came back. 

As soon as the Coyote started off, there came a Squirrel (Wat- 
sada), who asked the Prairie-Turtle if they might not play a trick on 
the Coyote, and take all the meat up in a tree where the Squirrel was 
living. The Prairie-Turtle agreed to do it, and they at once commenced 
to take the meat away to a tree that was standing by a creek. The tree 
spread out over the creek. After they had taken all the meat to the 
tree the Squirrel began to haul it up in the tree, and when the Squirrel 
had taken all the meat up, the Prairie-Turtle still remained to be taken 
up in the tree. When the Coyote returned he found that his meat was 
gone. He followed the trail to the creek, and when he looked in the 
creek he saw the Prairie-Turtle and the Squirrel in the water. When 
he saw them in the water they looked at him and smiled. The Coyote 
then said to them: “I will get even with you.” The tree spread out 
over the water, so that it was only the reflection of the Prairie-Turtle 
and the Squirrel in the water. The Coyote said: “Never mind, fellows, 
I will get you.” He dived in the water and could not reach them. 
When the Coyote came out he looked in the water again, and there they 
were, smiling at him. He tried every way to get to them and kill them 
and to take away the beef from them. The Coyote said to his children: 
“Get me a stone so that I can go down deep and get to where these 
fellows are.” ‘The Coyote thought that they were in a place under the 
water and that by going deeper he could get them. The children got 
him a stone to tie around his neck. Before going into the water he 
told his children that when they should see some excrement floating 
they should call for some intestines. When the children got him the 


274 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


stone, the Coyote tied it around his neck and dived in, expecting to 
get to the Prairie-Turtle and the Squirrel. After he had dived, some 
excrement floated around that came out from the bottom of the water. 
Then the children began to call for intestines. After a while the 
Prairie-Turtle and the Squirrel began to howl at the Coyotes, telling 
them that they had drowned their father. The young Coyotes and their 
mother saw the two up in the tree instead of seeing them in the water. 
They sat up there and mocked the Coyotes, saying that the old woman 
had drowned her man, and the young ones had drowned their father. 

The Prairie-Turtle and the Squirrel had some boiling meat and 
ate it up, and there was nothing but the soup left. The Squirrel called 
all the young Coyotes around the tree and told them that he would 
pour down some of the soup to them to drink. So the young ones 
came under the tree and the Squirrel poured the soup on them. The 
soup was boiling hot, and made them run in different directions. After 
the Squirrel had scalded the Coyotes he brought the Prairie-Turtle 
down to the ground and the two parted. Had it not been for the 
Squirrel all of the Coyotes would have stayed in droves all the time, 
but because the Squirrel scattered them they do not go together any 
more. Even the young ones, after they are old enough, separate, and 
no longer stay together. 


45. THE COYOTE, THE RABBIT, AND THE SCALPED-MAN.* ' 


The Coyote (Ketox) and the Rabbit (Kokish) once met to plan 
how to get something from some one else. They finally agreed to take 
a calumet pipe to the Scalped-Man (Tesakiwetsa), who never had been 
known to take his bonnet from his head. ‘They made plans to get his 
bonnet, not knowing what sort of a headdress he had. So the Coyote 
said to the Rabbit: “We will go to him and sing songs to him, and in 
this way we can get nearly everything he has. We will get this bonnet 
of his, too. After he has given us the other things he will not be very 
stingy of his bonnet.” So they started off at once for the Scalped-Man’s 
place. When they arrived there they told the Scalped-Man that they 
had come to give him a dance. The Scalped-Man accepted their offer. 
They commenced their dance, one singing while the other danced. 
When one got tired of singing the other sang. After they had begun 
to dance and sing the Scalped-Man came with gifts of moccasins, 
clothing, and the like, for them to wear. Before giving these things — 
away he, of course, had to tell a-war-story. They continued for a 


*Told by Kadas (Wichita). 


THE COYOTE, RABBIT, AND SCALPED-MAN. 275 


long time, for the Scalped-Man had a good many things to give away. 
Finally his things were all gone, and he told the Coyote and the Rabbit 
that they had everything he had, and that he had nothing more to give. 
Not yet satisfied, the Coyote and the Rabbit called on him for his bonnet, 
but this the Scalped-Man refused, for he could not take it off, as it 
was for his own use and for no one else. But they kept asking him 
for it and told hitn that they had been wanting it for a long time. They 
said they would not stop their dancing unless he should give them his 
bonnet. It was customary before giving anything, for the giver to go 
off, then come back, then tell a war-story and then give away whatever 
he had to give. The Coyote and the Rabbit kept on asking for the 
bonnet, ‘but the Scalped-Man refused. He told them that he had given 
away all he could. This made them feel like dancing and singing, and 
it was their intention not to stop singing and dancing until they had 
induced the Scalped-Man to give them the bonnet. Finally they pre- 
vailed upon the Scalped-Man, and when he came running toward them 
with his bonnet off they saw that he was a Scalped-Man. Both were 
afraid of him and they commenced to run, for they were scared at 
the appearance of this head. T’he Scalped-Man followed them until 
he overtook the Rabbit, whom he got by the feet. Now he started after 
the Coyote. When he overtook him he threw the Rabbit at him and 
hit him in the face, then gave up the chase. When the Rabbit got up 
the Coyote was gone. He trailed him and whistled to him to find where 
he was. Finally the Coyote heard the Rabbit whistling to him and 
answered, and they met again. They talked about the man’s head. 
The Coyote said: “If I had known what was the matter with the man’s 
head I would never have asked for his bonnet; but truly, that is 
the worst thing I ever saw. Were you not afraid of his head?” The 
Rabbit said: “I was truly scared when I saw him coming.” The Coy- 
ote then told the Rabbit that when overtaking him the Scalped-Man 
must have wet his moccasin and hit him in the face with it. The 
Rabbit then commenced to laugh, saying: “Si! Si! Si! ThatwasI. He 
got hold of my feet and threw me at you and hit you in the face, and he 
threw meso hard that when I landed in your face I urinated, so you 
thought you were hit with a wet moccasin. That was I.’”’ Thus they 
talked for a good while about their things that they still had at the 
Scalped-Man’s place, but they were both afraid to go to the Scalped- 
Man’s place after them. The Rabbit told the Coyote how foolish they 
were to try to get the man’s bonnet when he refused it so persistently. 
So they had to laugh over their troubles. But they were both astonished 
at the head of the Scalped-Man. They parted. 


276 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE. WICHITA. 


46. THE COYOTE AND THE SKUNK, WHO INAUGURATED 
THE FEAST.* 


The Coyote (Ketox) lived by himself with ‘his family. He gen- 
erally had a hard time, for he was sometimes Jucky in killing game, and 
sometimes he was unlucky, for ‘he was a notorious coward. Once upon 
a time while he was out hunting for something to eat he found the 
Skunk (Niwechia), and was about to kill him, for he was what he 
was looking for. The Coyote said to the Skunk: “My enemy, I have to 
kill you, for I am hunting for such animals as you. I was about to 
give up, but now I have found you and I must kill you, for my children 
and wife are hungry.” ‘The Skunk begged the Coyote to let him live, 
saying that he would give him power to kill other animals with more 
flesh, if he would only let him live. The Coyote then asked the Skunk 
where he could find these other animals. The Skunk told the Coyote 
that the Beavers (Gidisgardahits) were having a medicine-dance near 
by, and that by his sending for these men one at a time the and the 
Skunk could kill a whole lot of them. The Coyote then agreed to this 
proposition and was instructed what todo. He was told to go, and while _ 
they were dancing to point out the fattest one in the crowd and beg to 
have him come and doctor the Skunk, saying that he was very sick. 
The Coyote went to where he was told to go and there he found the 
Beavers having the medicine-dance. When he arrived at the place the 
Coyote was asked what he wanted. In reply he said that his partner 
was sick and that he wished one of the men who was dancing would 
come over there to doctor him. The Coyote was requested to take his 
choice of the men, for they were all medicine-men. The Coyote looked 
at them, and he selected the fattest man that he could see in the crowd. 
After selecting him he and the medicine-man went out to where the 
sick partner was. When they arrived where the sick partner was the 
Coyote was asked what part of the man’s body was hurting him. The 
Coyote told his partner to turn over and let the medicine-man see 
where the pain was. Cum mephitis se supinavisset, Coyote eius caudem 
sustulit, anumque demonstravit. Tunc medicus locum inspexit wbi 
dolerem esse dictum erat, et dum ille vultum prope anum tenebat, 
mephitis in illius oculos defaecavit, ut caecus paulisper fieret. Then 
the Coyote took a club and hit the medicine-man on the head and killed 
him. ‘Then he went back to where his partner was. He cleaned the 
blood from the ground and told his partner that was a pretty good 
trick that they had done. 


*Told by Towakoni Jim (Towakoni). 


THE COYOTE AND THE SKUNK. 277 


The Coyote was told to go and try again, and this time to tell 
them that the first medicine-man had failed to cure his partner and that 
the medicine-man had gone to look for some medicine different from 
_the one he had. The Coyote went back to where the medicine-men’s 
dance was, and on his arrival he told that the first medicine-man had 
failed to cure the sick man, but had gone out to look for some more 
medicine, different from what he had, and that he would soon come 
back. He said that he wished that he could have another medicine-man 
while this other one was out looking for his medicine, for his partner 
was nearly dead. He was then allowed to select another man. The 
Coyote then selected the fattest man in the crowd to doctor his partner. 
After selecting another man he and the medicine-man both went to 
where his sick partner was lying on his dying bed. When they arrived 
the Skunk pretended that he was dying and rolled from one side to 
the other. The Coyote told the medicine-man to make haste in doc- 
toring his partner, for he was afraid that he would die. The medicine- 
man then asked where it was hurting him the most. The Coyote 
turned over the sick partner of his and raised his tail up sand said that 
that was the most important place where the pain was. Then the 
medicine-man commenced to doctor him. While he was examining the 
place where the pain was the Skunk did as before, and again the Coy- 
ote took the club, and hit him on the head and killed him. The Coyote 
then again took this Beaver to one side, where he had laid the other 
Beaver, and then cleaned up the place again. They again played this 
same trick on another one and killed him, and then another one, until 
they had killed four in all, and then they quit. The Coyote thanked the 
Skunk for helping him to get something to eat. They parted. The 
Coyote went home loaded with the Beavers he thad killed. 

When the Coyote arrived home he requested his wife to do some 
cooking for him, so that he could call his friends to the feast. He told 
his wife that while he was out he had met a good many of his friends 
and that he had promised to invite them to come to his place and eat 
with him. The Coyote then asked his wife and children to leave the 
place for a while, when his friends should come, for there were some 
of the men who would not be looked at by women or children. The 
Coyote’s wife began at once to cook for his best friends. The Coyote 
also asked his family not to eat anything first, before these friends of 
his had eaten. His family was hungry, but they all obeyed the old 
man’s orders. When the cooking was done, the Coyote ordered his 
family to leave for a while until the feast was all over. Near their place 
was a little creek where he ordered his family to stay, and he told his 


278 THE MYTHOLOGY OF “DHE yWiItCHita: 


wife not to allow any of the children to look toward their place. When 
the Coyote’s family left the place the Coyote then rapped on the door 
and pretended that some one was coming in, and then he talked to him- 
self and pretended that he was seating his friends in the room. ‘The 
Coyote’s intention was to eat all the meat by himself. The Coyote then 
commenced to eat from one of the places where the food was spread out. 
He went from one place to another until he had enough. At the place 
where he first started to eat while he was hungry he ate the most, 
at the next place less, and so on. After he had enough he again pre- 
tended that all of the men were passing, and he talked to himself as if 
he were telling his friends that he was glad they had come to eat with 
him. Then the closed the door, and after a while he called his family 
to come in. 

When his family arrived the told them that his friends had eaten 
and that some were pretty hungry. The wife and children saw that 
there were places where some were seated that were hungry, and some 
that were not very hungry. The Coyote’s family ate the rest of the meat, 
while the Coyote was sitting there, full as he could be. After the 
children and wife had eaten, he commanded his family to move away 
and be coyotes. He also commanded that in after generations there 
would be such things as making a feast for friends. 


4¢. THE COYOTE WHO BECAME A BUFFALO.* 


The Coyote (Ketox) once went to look around for something to 
eat. While he was looking he saw a very large Buffalo (Taah) graz- 
ing. The Coyote watched him eating and wished that he might get 
his food in the same way as the Buffalo did. Wherever the Buffalo 
went the Coyote would follow. Now, the Coyote decided to beg the 
big Buffalo for powers that he had, especially to live like the Buffalo 
lived, not having to look around for food. The Buffalo kept grazing, 
the Coyote following him. Finally the Coyote called to the Buffalo, and 
said: “Luiwah (a word of address generally used by .the Coyote 
when meeting any one), I surely would like to have the great power 
you have and be as large as you are. Can you give these powers to me, 
so that I can graze around as you are doing now? I am sure you can 
take pity on your friend when he needs help.” ‘The Buffalo stood for 
a long time without saying anything to the Coyote. Finally the Buffalo 
asked the Coyote if he were brave, for it took brave men to become 


*Told by Careful-Doer (Woman) (Wichita). 


THE COYOTE WHO BECAME A BUFFALO. 279 


_ Buffalo. The Coyote told the Buffalo that he was the bravest man that 
was ever known; that he knew there was no braver man than himself. 
The Buffalo then said to the Coyote: “If you can tell me that you are 
brave that is all that is required for you to become a Buffalo.” The 
Coyote said that he was a brave man. Then the Buffalo said to the 
Coyote: “Well, come on, go a certain distance and let me run against 
you once; you will get up, a great big Buffalo bull; then you can go 
out among the herds of Buffalo and live as I live, and you may associate 
with the female Buffalo.” ‘This pleased the Coyote, who went off a cer- 
tain distance. The Buffalo told him to face him, saying that he would 
be run right square over, then he would be a Buffalo. The Buffalo 
ran as hard as he could toward the Coyote, and the Coyote looked right 
at the Buffalo bull, and he noticed that he had his eyes shut. The Coy- 
ote quickly stepped out of the way. The Buffalo turned around and 
said to the Coyote: “I thought you were a brave man and desired greatly 
to become a Buffalo.” The Coyote then was given another trial. The 
Buffalo told the Coyote that he would have but four trials; that if he 
failed to be run over there was no other way for him to become a 
Buffalo. They tried the second time, and the Coyote failed to be run 
again ‘this time, for he knew that if the Buffalo was trying to hurt 
him he would kill him. Without saying anything further the Buffalo 
again asked the Coyote to stand up where he was, and not to step out 
of the way again. The Coyote stood up again to let the Buffalo run 
over him. The Buffalo ran again toward the Coyote, and when he 
was near to him the Coyote stepped out of the way again. The Buffalo 
turned around and said to the Coyote: “Well, I will give you one more 
chance, and if I fail to run over you I shall ‘let you go the way you are.” 
So the Coyote was given one more trial. This time he closed his eyes 
and was going to let the Buffalo run over him, whether it should kill 
him or not. The Buffalo started on a run again towards the Coyote, 
and there stood the Coyote with his eyes shut, brave enough to let the 
Buffalo run over him, and over the Coyote went, and when he stood 
up he was a very large Buffalo bull. 

The Buffalo then told the Coyote that he could go wherever he 
wanted to, but he must not hurt any one. They parted, and the Coy- 
ote-Buffalo went his way. He grazed around eating grass. When he 
came to a creek he went into the water to drink, and to see what sort 
of a looking Buffalo he was. He drank the water like any other Buf- 
falo. After he had drank as much as he wanted he crossed the creek 
and went on an open prairie. While he was going he saw some one 
coming from across the prairie. He noticed that it was another Coyote. 


280 THE MYTHOLOGY. OF THE; WICHITA, 


He spoke to the Coyote, and asked him how he liked the way he was 
grazing. The Coyote told him that it was all right. The Coyote- 
Buffalo then told the Coyote if he wished to be like himself, power 
could be given him to do so. The Coyote asked how the power could 
be given. The Coyote-Buffalo told him that by running over him once 
he could be changed to a very large Buffalo bull and live as he himself 
was living, not having to live on any other food than grass, and could 
be among Buffalo and be with the female Buffalo. The Coyote accepted 
the offer, and stood off as far as the Coyote-Buffalo had stood from the 
Buffalo when he had been made into a Buffalo. The Coyote-Buffalo 
then ran as hard as he could, to run against the Coyote. Of course 
the Coyote-Buffalo asked the Coyote the same questions he had been 
asked when he first met the Buffalo. The Coyote said he was the 
bravest man he knew of. When he started to run over the Coyote, the 
Coyote jumped out of the way. He gave the Coyote four trials—the 
first, second and third time, and the fourth time the Coyote made up 
his mind to allow the Coyote-Buffalo to run over him. When the 
fourth time came, the Coyote-Buffalo ran over the Coyote, and when 
he fell over they both cried, the way the coyotes cry. They were both 
Coyotes again, instead of Buffalo. The Coyote-Buffalo was changed 
back to what he was first. The two Coyotes parted, one going one 
way and one the other. The Coyote who was a Buffalo never got 
into any herds of Buffalo, because he tried to make another Coyote 
into a Buffalo. This is the way the Coyote did when he got any kind 
of power from other animals. He would always do something wrong 
and let the power escape from him. 


48. THE COYOTE AND THE ARTICHOKE.* 


The Coyote (Ketox) was out hunting something for his family. 
He wandered from place to place. Once upon a time, as he went out 
to hunt, he went toward the north, and as he went further he met 
a good many people. The Coyote then asked these people where they 
were going. The people told him that they were going to dig some 
artichokes. The Coyote asked the people if he could go along. The 
people told him that he could. The Coyote then joined the party. 
As they went further, they came to a place where the artichokes were, 
and then the people began to dig for them. The Coyote began to dig, 
too. He noticed that some of these people were eating the artichokes 
as they went along digging. Then he commenced eating. Some one 





*Told by Ignorant Woman (Man) (Towakoni). 


THE COYOTE AND THE WILD-CAT. 281 


at his side told him that he must save a piece always, so that it would 
grow again. This piece that he was told to save was near the ring’s. 
Every time he would eat one, this artichoke would say: “This is where 
you will have to save me.” Then the Coyote would throw away that 
part. The Coyote then forgot all about digging and saving to take 
home, but kept on eating. Finally the rest of the people began to 
depart and he was left alone at this place. 

The Coyote then thought that he had better stay where he was, 
living on something good. He kept on eating the raw artichokes, and 
finally forgot about saving the part he had been told not to eat. The 
artichokes would remind him of it, but this time he would eat up every 
bit of it, so as not to let them grow any more and so that the people, 
whenever they should come back, would not find any more of the arti- 
chokes. So he kept on eating the artichokes, without saving a piece. 
Cum Coyote adeo farsisset ut crepere inciperet, mirabatur quid mali sibi 
esset. Crepere autem persistebat usque ad vexationem. Quandoque 
creperet, fiebat ut in aera iactaretur, paulatimque in silvas veheretur. 
Postremo in semiustam arborem truncam cavamque cecidit ibique 
haerebat, neque amplius crepebat. 

But the Coyote was unable to get out, and he could do nothing 
but remain there until some one should come along. The Coyote 
remained in this hollow stump several days, and he was getting pretty 
poor. Once in a while he would halloo, and say: “I am a fat coon, and 
I am in this ‘hhollow tree!’ Some time afterward the people came back, 
and when the Coyote heard them coming, he called out: “I am a fat 
coon in the hollow tree!” The people listened and tried to see where 
that sound came from. They finally caught the sound, and came to 
this burnt stump and began to cut the tree down, and when they had 
cut the tree down, there they found the Coyote, just as poor as he could 
be; he was unable to walk. So he was taken out, and his life was 
saved. The Coyote did not stay to see these people dig any more of 
the artichokes, but he went straight to his home, and when he got home 
he found that his family had starved to death. So he went off howling, 
and when he was howling he was crying over his family. 


49. THE COYOTE AND THE WILD-CAT.* 


Once upon a time the Coyote (Ketox) went on a journey, and after 
a while he got rather hungry, for he had gone a long way. He found 
on his way some dry bones. He picked up a rib bone and went on 


*Told by Keechi (Woman) (Wichita). 


282 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


until he came to some timber, and there he made a fire. After making 
a fire he thought that he would sleep for a while. He went to sleep, 
and when he woke he looked at the bone, and there was the whole rib 
of a buffalo and he had plenty of meat and fat. He cut a stick to hang 
the meat on, that he might cook it by the fire. After he had set the meat 
to roast he thought he would go to sleep again, for he was tired from 
traveling that day. While he was sleeping the Wild-cat (Waixsiits) 
came along and found the Coyote asleep. He saw the meat, took the 
Coyote’s knife, commenced to cut down the meat and ate all of it. 
After eating, the ‘Wild-cat took a little meat and filled the Coyote’s 
teeth with it, rubbed fat on the Coyote’s mouth, greased the Coyote’s 
hands, and put all the bones before him, then greased his knife. ‘The 
Wild-cat then went off some distance, and he, too, went to sleep. 
Finally the Coyote woke up, and there were all the bones before 
him. He looked at his hands and felt that his mouth was greasy and 
that he had meat between his teeth. There was his knife before him 
all greasy. He could not imagine what he had done; for he was as 
hungry as he could be. The Coyote thought that he must surely have 
eaten, from the way he was all greased up; but he was still hungry. 
While ‘he was still wondering whether he had already eaten the meat 
that he had cooked, he found the tracks of the Wild-cat and trailed 
him. The Coyote then said to himself: “I thought that I did not eat 
that meat, for I am still hungry; but never mind. I will get even with 
him.” He found the Wild-cat sound asleep. He took the Wild-cat 
up on his back, and packed him to the nearest creek, put him on a high 
bluff and turned his back to the bluff, so as to make him fall off when 
he should wake up; for he knew that the Wild-cat when waking gen- 
erally rolls over before getting up. The Coyote left him, and went off 
a good way, not expecting the Wild-cat to come back again. After the 
Coyote had got away he found another dry bone, and expected the bone 
to be the same as the first bone he had found, and so he went to sleep 
again. When the Wild-cat woke up, he rolled around a little and over 
_he went into the creek. When he came out of the water he wondered 
how he came to be where he was and how he could have fallen into the 
water. The Wild-cat then found the Coyote’s tracks. He said: “All 
right, Coyote, I will get even with you.” He followed up the Coyote’s 
trail and finally succeeded in finding him. There the Coyote was, again 
sound asleep. When the Wild-cat found the Coyote he put him on his 
back, carried him to the creek and laid him by the creek. He stretched 
his face and pulled his mouth further back, and made his teeth long. 


THE COYOTE AND THE WILD-CAT. 283 


He fixed the Coyote up in every way, to spoil his looks. (Before they 
met these animals were human beings.) After doing all this to the 
Coyote, the Wild-cat started off-and went to sleep again. 

When the Coyote woke up he felt different from what he had 
felt before going to sleep. He went to the bank of the creek to look 
at himself. He found that he had hair on his body, and a long tail 
and a long face. He saw that his mouth was split far back, and when 
he smiled he saw what long teeth he had, and what long ears. He 
thought to himself: “How came I to be in this condition?” He then 
thought of the Wild-cat, and commenced to think that he had changed 
his appearance. ‘The Coyote found the trail of the Wild-cat, and fol- 
lowed him until he found him, fast asleep. The Coyote then put both 
of his hands on the Wild-cat’s face, one on the top of his head and one 
over his mouth, and pressed his hands together. This made the Wild- 
cat’s face round. The Coyote changed him as much as the Wild-cat 
had changed himself. He cut off the tail of the Wild-cat and made it 
short. He made his back higher at the tail end of his body than at the 
fore part. Then he packed him to the creek and laid him down, so 
that he might find out what sort of a looking fellow he was when he 
woke up. The Coyote left the Wild-cat there and went off again. 
This time the Coyote thought: “When the Wild-cat comes back to me 
again I will play a trick on him and make out that I am asleep.” After 
the Coyote had gone a long way off he lay down, and soon he was as 
sound asleep as ever. The Wild-cat now woke up, and he felt different 
from what he did when he went to sleep, and every part of his body 
felt different. So he looked into the water to see himself, and he saw 
that he had been changed, and that he had an ugly-looking face. Here 
he sat for a while, for he did not know who did this. He found out 
that the Coyote had been around again, and he commenced to trace 
him. When he found him he was sound asleep. This time the Wild- 
‘cat thought that he would make it uncomfortable for the Coyote, 
so he took the Coyote up in an old burnt tree and placed him in the hole. 
The Coyote was left up in the tree to suffer before he could get down. 
This time, the Wild-cat left him entirely. When the Coyote woke up 
he found himself up in the tree, and there was no way for him to get 
down, and it was too high to jump down. He called for every bird 
that he saw flying by the tree. He called for those that had the largest 
axe. Some fled by, and said that there was some one else coming behind 
that had a large axe. Finally the Wood-pecker (Korekitaha) came, 
and to him the Coyote called: “Friend! Help me out. I am in trouble.’ 


284 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


The Wood-pecker commenced to work from the bottom, up, and finally 
succeeded in reaching the Coyote, and he got him out. The Coyote 
thanked the Wood-pecker for helping him out, and he told him that 
he had the sharpest axe that he had ever seen. The Wood-pecker’s axe 
was its nose. Here the Coyote’s troubles ended. He went off to roam 
over the prairie, but he always had hard times to get something to eat. 


50. THE COYOTE, THE OPOSSUM, AND THE CROW.* 


Once upon a time the Coyote (Ketox) ; Opossum (Waitskada- 
daiyox), or Gray-Man; and the Crow (Waitscowwi), met. When they 
met they asked one another what their names meant. The Coyote 
first asked the Opossum what his name meant. Opossum gave the 
definition of his name. ‘Then the Crow said: “Yes, let us know what 
your name means.” So the Opossum said that the name he went by 
meant Man-Having-a-War-club (Waitskadaidaiyoks). ‘This club 
that I have,” said he, “I use in killing my enemies.” The two others 
then said to the Opossum: “Is that what your name means?” Next, 
the Crow was asked the meaning of his name. He replied that when- 
ever he attacked his enemies, after killing some of them, he always 
was ready to get into the home he lived in. The Coyote was then asked 
what his name meant. He had four names—Wetsikitox, Atatsyatskak, 
Hiquideskunniwai, and Kesawah. The Coyote replied that Wetsikitox 
meant that when anything happened he always wanted to go ahead 
before any one else was ready; or, sometimes in attacking the 
enemies, that he always went on and killed all the enemies first, before 
anybody did anything. He was then asked what the name Atatsya- 
tskuk meant. The Coyote said: “It is nothing for me to tell the mean- 
ing of my names. That means that I defecated on roads made by war- 
parties and nowhere else.” Then he was asked the meaning of Hiquides- 
kunniwai. He replied that this was greater than either of the first two; 
that it meant that while out on the war-path, whenever he went out 
spying, that he defecated on a bunch of grass, and not on the ground, 
for the enemies might see that some one was after them. Then again 
the Coyote was asked the meaning of Kesawah. He replied that it 
meant that whenever he was out on the war-path and was wounded, 
some parts of his bones were fractured. In that way some of his bones 
remained in his stomach, and when carried home by his followers and 
when defecating, his excrement was mixed with bones. 





*Told by Ignorant-Woman (Man) (Towakoni). 


THE COYOTE AND THE FISH-HAWK. 285 


The Coyote then told the others that their names signified nothing 
compared to his names; that his names were all connected with war. 
So they told him that he had pretty good names. The Coyote said: 
“My names all mean something, for I will not bear a name that indi- 
cates fun. My names are great.” They all put the word ‘“Wets” with 
their names, which means “man,” or “bold.” So they all added this 
name to their names. Then, having learned what their names meant, 
they all departed. 


51. THE COYOTE AND THE FISH-HAWK.* 


Once upon a time there lived a Coyote (Ketox) and his family. 
He wandered around from one place to another, hunting, trying to sup- 
port his family. He would sometimes find something easily, and other 
times with difficulty. 

Once upon a time he was going along down the stream of a creek, 
and as he went along he saw a man sitting by a bank, and he supposed 
that the man was fishing. Once in a while he would hear the man say, 
“let some of you larger ones bite,” and whenever he would say that, 
the Coyote would see the man draw back his head, and out would come 
a fish. The Coyote noticed that this man had a long string-like thing 
on his head that he used for a fishline. The Coyote then came up and 
was seen by the man. The Coyote was given some fish to take home 
with him for his family. He then said to the man: “My friend, I am 
captivated by your way of making a living. Can you give me the 
power so that I can fish and have all I want for my family?’ ‘The man 
then told the Coyote that it would be a hard thing to do, for he would 
have to follow his instructions, and if he did not, he would get into 
trouble, and besides that, he would have to go and look for a place just 
exactly like the place they were at. The Coyote said: “Well, I do not 
think I can make any mistake after you tell me what to do. I am too 
old to make any mistakes. I have long been looking for such things, 
and you are the man I have long been looking for.” (The Coyote never 
had seen this man, nor ‘thad he heard about him.) So the Coyote was 
instructed to look for a place like the one they were at, and the thing 
was put on his head to be used for a line. The man said to the Coy- 
ote: “Now, my friend, you must never call for the largest fish in the 
water.” The Coyote said that he would not, for he was too old to. 
forget that. The man said that any other size he wanted he could get, 
and could get as many as he might want. 





*Told by Ignorant-Woman (Man) (Towakoni). 


286 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


So the Coyote left this man, telling him that that was the best secret 
he had ever learned, and that never after that should his family go 
hungry. He went on to look for a place that was like the place they 
were at. The place he had to look for was a bank, which projected 
out into the water. So the Coyote finally succeeded in finding such a 
place. He then commenced to fish. He caught all the fish that he 
wanted, and as many as he could pack on his back, and went on home. 
On his arrival he said to his wife: “Old woman, I have found some 
power, so you need never go hungry any more. You shall always have 
something to eat, and it is not hard to get, either.” So the Covote’s 
family had all the fish they wanted to eat. 

Thereafter the Coyote followed this way of living, and they had 
all that they wanted, but somehow or other the food would not last 
very long. He kept on fishing all the time, and sometimes he would 
catch so many fish that he would have to make three journeys to carry 
them home, and they would eat them in no time. But he kept on fishing. 
Sometimes he would take along his whole family to fish, and he would 
get as many as they could pack, and yet they would eat them in a 
short time. Once upon a time the Coyote wanted to catch the largest 
fish that was in the water, so that it would last longer. He said to him- 
self: “Maybe my friend was just fooling me, and it may be that he 
wanted to keep the largest ones for himself, but now I will play a trick 
on him, and fool him this time.’”’ So, as he went down to fish he went 
alone, and when he got there he called for the largest fish that was in 
the water, the chief of all fishes. This fish bit his bait and he was un- 
able to pull it out. The fish was about to draw him into the water, and 
the Coyote then commenced to beg it to let go the bait, for he said he 
had only been joking. But the fish kept pulling on his line, and finally 
took off the whole scalp of his head. 

The Coyote then cried and ran home. On his arrival his family 
was afraid of him, since he had no hair on his head. But he called for 
them, telling them that he was the Coyote, the head of the family, but 
they all ran from him. Finally he gave up chasing his family, and then 
he died, through his own foolishness. ‘The man that gave the Coyote 
the power was Having-Eye-directed-on-the-Water (Kitikowi), or the 
Fish-Hawk. 


THE COYOTE AND THE BEAR. 287 
52. THE COYOTE AND THE BEAR.* 


Once upon a time there lived the Coyote (Ketox) with his family. 
He wandered around from place to place hunting for food or working 
up some kind of a scheme on some others. Once upon a time he got 
up before daylight and went towards the north. He kept on going 
further and further. After daylight he came to a place where he heard 
a Bear (Widaw) coming, whooping at him and asking him why he 
should come to a place where he himself wandered, for he did not 
allow anyone to come to this place without killing him. The Coyote 
was frightened, and did not know what to do when he saw the Bear 
coming toward him. Just then some foolish idea came to his mind, and 
he thought that he had better play a trick on the Bear. As soon as the 
Bear approached the Coyote ordered him to stop, and not to kill him 
until his father looked at him. This Bear then stopped for a moment 
and wondered who his father was. Finally, the Coyote saw that every- 
thing was in his favor, and so he rushed forth toward the Bear, and just 
then the Sun rose. The Coyote then requested the Bear to go ahead and 
kill him or else he would kill the Bear. The Bear began to back, and the 
Coyote went forth toward him, and ran over him, and again asked him 
to make haste in killing him, saying that his father was now looking 
at him, and that that was the finest time for him to die. The Bear 
began to back up and give up all hopes of ever living again, because he 
thought that he had tried to kill the son of the Sun. The Bear thought 
to himself: ‘Well, now I have powers from the Sun myself, and if 
this man is the son of the Sun, he surely must have greater powers than 
Ihave.” The Coyote kept pushing him around, asking him to hurry and 
kill him while his father was looking at him. He said that then he 
would find out what his father could do for him, and that if he at- 
tempted to make his escape it did not make any difference where he 
went ; that he could be found and killed just the same, and that there was 
no chance for him to get away. The Bear finally begged the Coyote 
to allow him to live, and offered to let him have some of his powers; 
but the Coyote said to the Bear: “The powers you have do not equal 
mine, so I have no use for them.” 

The Coyote kept pushing the Bear back, telling him that he had 
made a mistake by trying to bulldoze him. The Bear again begged him 
not to kill him, and promised to go to ‘his home with him and do all his 
work for him, and do the hunting for him and to feed his children. 
The Coyote then said to the Bear: “Now, you have made a good 
promise to me, and I am going to let you live. I was going to kill 


*Told by Towakoni Jim (Towakoni). 


288 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


you, for you did me wrong in the first place.” The Bear begged the 
Coyote’s pardon, and the Coyote then rode on the Bear’s back toward 
his home. Before arriving home he ordered the Bear to go out hunting, 
saying that he must not try to make his escape, for he could easily get 
him back, no matter what kind of a good talk he put up. The Bear 
then went on to hunt for the Coyote, saying to himself: “I surely made 
a mistake by trying to kill him. If I had not put up such a good talk 
he surely would have killed me.” The Bear went on until he came to 
a deer. He killed him, then he turned toward the Coyote’s place with 
the meat. On his arrival he heard the Coyote telling his wife that he 
had captured a very large Bear, and that he would have killed him if 
he had not made a good promise; that from that time on he would live 
with them and do all the work for them, and hunt for them, too, and so 
he did not kill the Bear. Just then the Bear came in, bringing the deer 
meat, and the Coyote ordered his wife not to have anything to do with 
the cooking, but to let the Bear do all the work. The Bear sat down to 
rest, and the Coyote jumped up and took a burning stick and ‘burned 
him and ordered him to make haste to do the cooking, for his wife and 
children were hungry. He told the Bear he was slow in hunting; that 
it did not take him that long to hunt. The Bear then commenced to 
roast the meat for them, and after cooking the meat he gave it to the 
Coyote’s family to eat. This is the way the Bear’s life began in living 
with the Coyote’s family. His work was to support this family for a 
long while. The young ones treated him as their father had done. 
If he did not do his work in a hurry they scorched him. The children 
would ride him around whenever he was not doing anything. 

Once upon a time when the Bear went out hunting he met some- 
body who told him that he was a big fool for living with the Coyote and 
supporting his family, for the Coyote was not a child of the Sun, and 
had no powers. The Bear was told that he was just following a hard 
life by living with them, and that when he arrived at the place he should 
kill off all the young ones, and the old ones too, for they could not do © 
him any harm. The Bear returned without anything, and upon his 
arrival the young ones tried to do to him the same as they had always 
done, but the great Bear rushed forth and killed the whole family. 
After killing them he went back to his home. 


THE COYOTE AND THE TURKEY. 289 
“ 53, THE COYOTE AND THE SMALLEST SNAKE.* 

Once upon a time there went out the Coyote (Ketox) on the prairie, 
and as he was going along he found a little Snake (Hissquawasedikis ; 
Never-grows-larger). The Coyote said to this Snake: “What a thing 
you are. I would not be so small as you are. You ought to be like 
me. I ama big man.” ‘The Coyote then said to the Snake: “Let me 
see your teeth.” The Snake opened its mouth and showed the Coyote 
his teeth. The Coyote then opened his mouth and said to the Snake: 
“You see my mouth. What if we were to bite one another. You 
could not hurt me very much. My teeth are so big that I would just 
bité you in two.” The Coyote bit the Snake, and then the Snake bit 
the Coyote. The Coyote said: “Now I will go over here a little way, 
and we will call to one another.” The Coyote thought that by calling 
to one another he could tell if the Snake should die, for he thought it 
would die from the bite he had given it. The Snake went a little way 
off and lay down and the Coyote went the other way. The Coyote called 
to the Snake and the Snake answered weakly. Finally, the Coyote called 
and he answered pretty low. They then kept calling one another, and 
the Snake would answer pretty low, and the Coyote would say to him- 
self: “I knew that I would kill that Snake.” But the Coyote began 
to swell up where the Snake had bitten him, and it began to hurt the 
Coyote pretty badly, because his whole body began to swell. But thev 
kept calling one another. It got so that when the Coyote was called 
he would answer very faintly, for his whole body was swelling up, and 
when the Snake was called he would answer very loud. Finally the 
Snake called the Coyote and the Coyote did not answer. So the Snake 
got up and went to where the Coyote was lying, and there he found 
him dead. So the Coyote died of the Snake bite, because he acted 
so smart and bragged of his large teeth. The Snake then left the 
Coyote after he had killed him. This Snake, it is known, was the 
smallest of all snakes. 


54. THE COYOTE AND THE TURKEY.+ 


One time when the Coyote (Ketox) was hunting for something 
for his children to eat, he sneaked around back of a place and attacked 
a Turkey (Naa). The Coyote pulled all the feathers off the Turkey, 
put them around the Turkey’s neck, and asked the Turkey if he was 
honest. The Turkey told the Coyote that he was honest. The Coyote 





*Told by Ignorant Woman (Man) (Towakoni). 
+Told by Dragging-EKnemies-from-River-Banks (Towakoni). 


290 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


told the Turkey to go to his place and to tell his wife to cook him and 
to save him (the Coyote) the wing. The Turkey agreed to do so. The 
Coyote then said: “Turkey, do as I have told you to do.” Gallus deinde 
ad domicilium Coyote proficiscebatur, eiusque uxorem docebat Coyote 
se mississe ut cum ea concumberet. Anus liberos exire uissit dum man- 
datis viri sui pareret. After the children had gone out, the Coyote’s 
wife was treated as she had never been before, for the Turkey bit her 
on the back of the head and stamped her back with his feet. After that 
the Turkey told the Coyote’s wife that his friend, the Coyote, had told 
him to tell her to cook the sinew and to break the arrow-sticks and to 
cook the sinew with them. The Coyote’s wife did as she was told. 
Then the Turkey left the place and went off laughing at the Coyote’s 
wife for the trick he had played on her. 

When the Coyote returned home, before entering he commenced 
to call for the wing that he had asked the Turkey to have his wife save 
for him. The old woman said to the Coyote: “The wing? -What do 
you mean? You have sent some one here, and he has got ahead of 
you.” Then the old woman gave the cooked sinew to the Coyote 
to eat, and said: “You sent him here to tell me to cook the sinew, and 
to break the arrow-sticks to cook with it.” The Coyote commenced to 
eat the sinew, and said: “TI will kill that Turkey the next time I see 
him.” He went out again to search for the Turkey, but when he found 
him the ‘Turkey was up in a tree, and still had all of his feathers around 
his neck. The Coyote tried to coax the Turkey down, saying that he 
had something to tell him, but the Turkey knew that he was going to 
kill him if he got him down. The Coyote never did get the Turkey 
down. He went back, but when he got home, he had been so long on 
the journey after the Turkey, that his children and wife had starved to 
death. He found his children and wife dead, so he went off and cried. 
Whenever a Coyote cries or howls it is still said that he is crying over 
the death of his wife and children. 


55. THE DELUGE AND THE REPEOPLING OF THE EARTH.* 


In the times of this story there were many villages and many 
people, some good and some bad. There were also many wild animals. 
Some of the people thought that they had wonderful powers. ‘They 
thought they were the only great people in existence and that they were 
the most powerful of all. They became famous. They showed many 


*Told by Towakoni Jim (Towakoni). 


THE DELUGE AND REPEOPLING THE EARTH. 291 


supernatural powers. Things were going wrong, for there was no such 
thing as death. All the people who were old stayed old, and those who 
were young remained young. 

In a certain village there was a chief whose wife became pregnant. 
Time passed very rapidly. In a very little while after the woman had 
become pregnant she brought forth four litthe monsters. They grew 
every day. Most of the powerful men of the village came around and 
visited the chief’s place, saying among themselves that the monsters 
were ‘a very dangerous sort of children. They said it would be better 
to carry them off and kill them, but the mother said that she thought 
that they would be good children. She thought the children might turn 
out well, and did not want them killed. There was in the village a man 
who was a prophet, and he could foretell things. He said that of all 
the animals existing there were none like these monsters; that their 
birth was a sign that something dreadful was going to happen. ‘The 
monsters grew every day, and finally they began to go around. They 
had four feet, and they went around with the other children. The 
chief announced to the people that they should not harm the monsters. 
The monsters played with the other children. Sometimes they would 
run over them, but since the chief had forbidden that the monsters 
should be harmed the children could not say very much against them. 
As the monsters grew older they began to do much damage. They 
would eat buffalo robes, upturn tipis, eat rawhide ropes, etc. The 
chief’s wife did not say anything more in the defence of the monsters, 
for she knew that they were dangerous. When the monsters were 
plundering the villages the people would try to harm them, but could 
not. Finally the monsters began to run over the children and to eat 
them, and they did more and more mischief. The prophet told the people 
that something fearful was about to happen. After the monsters began 
to eat people the chief of the tribe told the people to go ahead and do 
as they pleased with the monsters. They tried to kill them, but could 
not harm them. They kept on growing. Finally the monsters went 
to the middle of the village and stood together, one facing east, one 
facing south, one facing west, and one facing north. In that way they 
all grew together. As they grew higher they could not stoop down to 
their feet to get the people, but the ones who were far away they could 
reach. The monsters continued to grow. The taller they grew the 
better it was for the people near their feet, but whenever they saw a 
person coming from far away they would stretch their necks in that 
direction. They would bend down their heads and grab the person. 
The monsters continued to grow. The people looked up, and it seemed 
that they would soon reach the sky. They grew higher and higher. 


292 THE MYTHOLOGY “OF? THE .WICHTITA. 


The prophet was told by a voice from above that he had a work 
that was soon to begin, for everything was going wrong; that he was 
to begin a work; that things were getting worse. The prophet was 
told to get a tall cane, and place in between the joints all kinds of seeds, 
grass, corn, etc., using joint after joint of the cane. Then he was told 
to select in pairs those animals he thought best should be saved. He 
was to save all the good ones and leave out all the bad ones. The voice 
said it would attend to the bad ones. He also told the prophet to tell 
him when he had everything ready; he should set up the, pole 
in the. ground, crawl into it ‘himself and then let him know that 
everything was ready. He was then told to go to the north where 
he would see some one standing; that he should tell him that he had 
everything ready, and beg him to go ahead with his work and do the 
rest. After the prophet had put everything in the cane he went to the 
man in the north and told him that everything he wished to save was 
in the cane, and he asked him to go ahead with the work and finish it. 
The man at the north replied that he would soon send some one back 
to the village of the prophet; that when the time should come there 
would be a sign indicating that dire things were going to happen; 
that the fowls and animals would be seen coming from the north and 
going to the south. On a certain day the fowls of the air appeared in 
the north, like a cloud, and they flew toward the south. The prophet 
crawled into the cane. The people wondered what was the reason 
for this. Finally the animals came, and the people began to find out 
what was about to happen. They began to cry and to run for the 
mountains and for other places, but it did them no good. After the 
birds and the animals had passed there came a flood, and the water 
was all over, and it got deeper and deeper. The bad people were 
drowned and everything else that was not in the cane. 

While the flood was going on the monsters stood straight up. The 
thing that the man in the north was about to send from the north he 
sent, and it got under the feet of the monsters. After the monsters 
had stood a long time on the same ground they began to tire out. The 
thing that the man from the north had sent was a water-monster, the 
Turtle, and the Turtle was sent to destroy the monsters. The Turtle 
got under the feet of the monsters, that were still facing the four differ- 
ent directions. The cane stood up by the monsters, and it stood until, 
after the water had gone down. When the flood was flowing swiftly 
the cane would roar like thunder. Finally one of the monsters said 
to his brothers: “How are your legs? Can you stand?” ‘The other 
three said their legs were giving out; that it was getting slippery, for 
a large Turtle was under them and they were about to be destroyed. 


THE DELUGE AND REPEOPLING THE EARTH. 293 


Finally, the monster in the north said to his brothers: “My legs are 
giving out, and I will have to fall, and the direction in which I fall 
shall be called North’ (Itarakadara—North-Room). So there were 
three monsters left. Finally, another monster said to his brothers: 
“How are you getting along? My legs are giving out, and I shall have 
to fall.” He fell over towards the east, and when he fell there was a 
roaring toward the east, where the sun comes up, and the direction was 
called East (Naasakaskidi—Where-the-Sun-rises). There were now 
two monsters left. Finally, the third monster said to this brother: 
“My legs are giving out, and I shall have to fall; I can not stand longer ; 
I shall have to fall toward the South” (Idikuts—Changing-Weather). 
He fell right over. The fourth monster had no one to talk to, but he 
said that he was giving out and that he would have to fall, and the 
direction he should fall should be called West (Nesakisudi—W here-the- 
Sun-goes). 

After the monsters were destroyed the water began to go down. 
It wholly disappeared, so that the land could tbe seen, especially one high 
point. To this point the prophet and his wife were sent. Both were 
naked and they had nothing to eat, and they had nothing to live with. 

When the man and the woman were placed on the high point and 
the water had gone down, they noticed foam where the high points of 
land had been, as far as they could see. While they were up on the 
mountains the prophet thought he had better go down to the bottom 
and see how the land was, whether it had got dry or was still 
soft. When he got down to the foot of the mountain he noticed that 
the ground was getting harder, because the wind blew hard. A long 
time after this the prophet was told that the ground had dried up and 
they must go down from the mountain. As they went down he found 
a small cedar tree. He noticed some other small trees, like dogwood 
and evergreen trees. He also found remedies. He found soapweed 
and a tree with brown berries with black and yellow seeds. All of 
these things were for his use. The dogwood was for his arrows, the 
brown berry wood being for his bow. The soap weed was for bow- 
strings; the medicine was to use in case of sickness, as also was the 
cedar. The prophet was told that the things were coming out from the 
cane; that he need not go back there to get them; that he would see 
them go from one place to another. About this time the grass was 
coming up. All the animals that he had saved in the cane began to 
come around him. When the prophet came back his woman had gone 
to sleep. When they awoke the next morning they found beside them 
a stalk of corn that had already grown. A voice said to them that this 
was Mother-Corn; that they should use it again; that all the things they 


294 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE: WICHITA. 


had seen would be in use. The tree for the bow was also to be used 
for shinny clubs, etc., for it was hard; the cedar tree was for their 
lodges ; the soap weed they were to use for grass-lodges, etc. From the 
time when the promises were made to them it was promised further on 
that they would have their grass-lodge built and would be given plenty 
of things to use, and there would be corn planted by the lodge, which 
they were to eat. 

This went on until finally one morning they woke and found they 
were in a grass-lodge, and outside of this place they found four corn 
stalks, each having on it an ear of corn. They observed that the 
promises that had been made to them were being fulfilled. They had been ~ 
promised a grass-lodge with a cedar frame; that in the future the people 
were to use cedar for their grass-lodge frames. These grass-lodges 
were to stand for a while without being torn down, and they could 
endure hard winds. After they had settled down in the place where 
they woke up they were told to go ahead with their work with the 
materials they already had. The man was told that it was time for 
the animals to generate, and it was his duty to hunt for his meat, for 
the weapons and game were for that purpose. The woman was told 
to teach others to plant the corn. Generation after generation the corn 
was to be used, and if the time should come that they planted corn and 
something else than corn came up, it would be a sign that the end of 
the world was at hand. 


56. THE DELUGE AND THE REPEOPLING OF THE EARTH.* 


Once upon a time there was a head man who had many thousands 
of people to rule. The time came when his wife was to give birth to 
four children in the form of something like that of the horse. When 
this came to pass the head man was displeased, and got some one to 
carry the young monsters away; but they grew rapidly, and it made 
the chief fell badly. Up to this time the people had been in the habit 
of wandering from one place to another, but the time had now. come 
when they could not get around without being injured by these mon- 
sters. They went around under the monsters’ feet, and when they tried 
to go on further the monsters would reach down and get them and 
swallow them. The monsters, who were called Standing-in-Water* 
(Hoskakakadiki), faced north, east, south, and west. 

The time came when the chief selected a certain man to go due 
northwest, to see a certain being who, though but'a small man, had 


*Told by Ahahe (Waco). 


THE DELUGE AND REPEOPLING THE EARTH. 295 


great powers. The chief told his errand man to keep pretty well hidden 
from these monsters while on the journey, so as to get away safely. 
The man with powers could grow to be an old man and then turn 
young again. When the chief’s errand man made the visit the little 
man asked him to state the object of his coming; and the chief’s man 
said that he was sent there by the chief of all the people, because 
everything was: going wrong, and the people were being injured by 
four living monsters, and nothing could be done to hinder them from 
getting the people. Then the little man with powers told the chief’s 
man that certain things were to happen, which would indicate that 
certain other things were going to happen. When the chief’s man 
returned he had to use the same care as he had done before to keep 
out of sight of the monster. After his return he went to the chief’s 
place and made it known that he had returned. Then the chief called 
the people to his place, so that the man could tell the story of his visit 
to the man with powers. The people gathered around the chief’s 
place and were called together to hear the man’s story. The chief’s 
man said that he was told by the man with powers that there would be 
something done to destroy the monsters; that the time would come 
_when there would be some sign given so that the people would know 

that something was about to happen; that when the time should come 
it would begin from the north; that the flocks of fowls of the air, and 
the animals from the plains and woods, would appear as clouds; and 
that a big water-monster (Turtle) would be sent to destroy the four 
monsters. Some were afraid, but others were glad that it was going 
to happen. After a while there came to the people some signs, which 
- showed that there was something in the north that looked like clouds ; 
and the fowls of the air came, and the animals of the plains and woods 
were seen. All of this indicated that something was to happen. The 
clouds that were seen in the north were a deluge. 

The deluge was all over the face of the earth. When the deluge 
came the water-monster, of course, was under the feet of the four 
monsters. After the Turtle got to moving around every place was so 
smooth that it was impossible for the monsters to stand. The one in 
the south said to his brothers that he was getting tired and would have 
to fall; and so he fell, and as he was falling he said that the direction 
he fell in should be called South (Idikuts—Changing-Weather). Then 
the one facing the west said that he was like the one who had been in 
the south, that he was getting tired and would have to fall; and as he 
fell he said that the direction in which he was falling should be called 
West (Nesakisudi—Where-the-Sun-goes). The one facing north got 


296 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


tired and said that he would have to fall; and so when he fell he said 
that the direction in which he fell should be called North (Itarakadara 
—North-Room). There was only one more of these monsters. This 
one, of course, could not talk to any one else, so he said aloud to him- 
self that he was tired and would have to fall; and while he was falling 
he said the direction in which he fell should be called East (Naasakas- 
kidi—Where-the-Sun-rises). The time came, after these monsters were 
destroyed by the flood, when the land was to be divided from the 
water; for there were but two things known which had not been des- 
troyed, namely, the Wind (Newerah), and a party which was away 
under the water before the flood, and known as Medicine-Men (Hare- 
neze). Everything else on the face of the earth was destroyed. The 
land was then just floating. It happened that the Wind got to traveling 
around, drying up the land, and there were streaks of foam left on the 
land, which remained as mountains. The Wind still went around 
drying until he found that there was somebody else left on earth be- 
side himself, which was the Medicine-Man. Of course, he still con- 
tinued in going from place to place. Once upon a time he stopped, 
facing toward the west, and he saw something like rain falling from 
above. This attracted his attention, and he went on his way to see what 
was there. When he came to this place he saw a woman lying on the 
ground, with her head to the west and her feet to the east. After 
seeing this he still continued his traveling. The next time he visited 
the place he noticed that the woman had the form of one pregnant, and 
he went on again, drying up the land. The next time he visited the 
place he saw a child lying on the side of this woman, as of to-day. 
When he made his second visit he noticed that the woman had changed; 
and she did not look as she did when he first saw her. So the Wind 
continued his journey, going around and around, and it happened that 
he made his third visit to the place, and saw the child and the woman. 
At this time he could hardly see the woman, so he made up his mind 
to take the child. When reaching for the child it screamed, and the 
Wind heard some one from above saying that he should let this child 
alone. “This,’’ he thought to himself, “must be the child of Man- 
never-known-on-Earth” (Kinikasias). He made up his mind that he 
would go again, going from one place to another. The time came 
again when he made another visit to this place, and he saw the child, 
and picked it up and went on his way to a place where he knew there 
were some people living. Wren he took the child he noticed that it 
was a girl. When he reached the place he took the child and gave ther 
to the people to raise. At this time everything progressed pretty fast, 
so the child grew rapidly. 


THE DELUGE’ ANDi REPEOPLING THE EARTH. 297 


When the Wind first got the child, on the fourth visit, there was 
the child, and no woman, so he called the woman the Earth, the mother 
of the first woman born after the deluge, and this is why we call the 
Earth “mother.” The girl grew pretty rapidly, and her name was 
Dream-Girl (Aitskasawnats). As time passed, she became old enough 
to marry; and in the place where she was raised there was a man who 
became her husband, and after a time there was a child born to them 
who was a boy. The boy grew, and after a while he went off from the 
place where they were living, and, of course, being the first boy born, 
he had wonderful powers to create other things that were now on the 
face of the earth. He went around every day doing all of this, and he 
commanded things to exist. At one time, on his return, he brought 
back with him four sticks, that his father might make arrows, and he 
brought another stick for a bow for his own use. Now, the boy told 
his father and mother to move out of the place that they were living 
in; so the woman went out and fixed up another place to live in, and 
the boy still continued his work every day. He told his father and 
mother not to do him wrong until he had completed all things that he 
wanted to do. In going out every day he would always have something 
with him. Once, on his return, his father and mother noticed that he 
had a pipe, and that he had a big bundle, in which he carried every- 
thing for his own use. He now came to be a young man, and he still 
told his father and mother not to do him wrong until he had finished 
all the things he wanted to do. Once upon a time, on his return, before 
reaching home, he spoke to his father and mother, saying: “You have 
done me wrong; so that you both have caused my work to cease, and 
I will not come to live with you.” ‘He told his people that he would 
go in the direction of the east, and he was to become the Morning-Star 
(Harseiryarsenarar. ) | 

After Morning-Star thad left his father and mother, another child 
was born to them, which was a girl. Again time passed, and another 
child was born to them, which was a boy. Time passed and the two 
children grew up. They became husband and wife; and from this on, 
there came to be a great many people. The father of the Morning-Star 
in having a great many people, said to this wife that he would do like 
his son, and go off. This man’s name was Clearness-after-Rain (Iaka- 
dakiwitse). So he went on his way toward the northwest, becoming 
Clearness-after-Rain. Before leaving, he commanded the people that 
they should say after the rain that Never-stop-to-see-what-is-in-the- 
Way (Kidiahosaihiristas) was coming. The wife of this man never 
knew what became of him. 


298 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


THE THIRD PERIOD: THE PRESENT. 


5¢. THE WOMAN WHO MARRIED A STAR.* 


One night a long time ago, after the stars in the heavens were 
created, some bright and some dim, just as we see them now, there 
was a certain woman looking up in the sky watching the stars. She 
noticed that some of the stars were bright and some very dim. Those 
that were bright she thought to have once existed as fine-looking men. 
The dim ones she thought might have been old people. As she was 
looking at the stars she pointed out one bright star, and said: “That 
star twinkles so bright, it must have been a fine-looking young man. 
I wish I could have him for my husband.” After saying this she 
watched the rest of the stars. On the same night, after she had gone 
to bed and to sleep, it seems that in her dream she was with this man 
whom she had pointed out and desired for her husband. When she 
awoke she found herself in a strange place, and sitting there by the 
fire was an old man. There she sat, not knowing what to do. Finally 
the old man woke up and spoke to her, saying: “My woman, I am the 
star that twinkled so bright at night when you were looking at the stars 
in the sky, and whom you selected as a fine-looking man. All the 
brightest stars are old people, and the dim ones are young people. You 
made a mistake when you desired me. Hereafter you shall be my wife.” 

The woman had to stay there and live with the star, and was his 
wife. Some time afterward the woman noticed a large rock lying on 
the ground, and this she was told never to move. One time she decided 
to remove the rock, and when she looked down she could see the earth, 
but she was far away from the earth. Then she moved the rock back 
into its place. She began to study what to do in order to get down. 
In some way she found bunches of soapweed, which she cut and braided 
so that it was strong enough to hold her whenever she wanted to go 
down. Of course, it took lots of soapweed, though they were very 
stout. It took her a long time to make the rope. When she thought 
that it was long enough to reach to the ground she tied it to the stone, 
knowing that the stone could not go down. Then she let herself down 
on the rope. It is not known how long it took her to climb down to 
the end of it, but when she reached the ground she found that she could 
barely reach the tops of the highest trees. She could only hang there. 
In time a Buzzard flew close to her and asked her if she was still alive. 





*Told by Burgess Hunt (Wichita). 


THE WOMAN WHO MARRIED A STAR. 2909 


She told the Buzzard that she was still alive. The Buzzard told her 
that he was going to let her down and that she must be ready to get 
hold of his neck whenever the should come down. The Buzzard com- 
menced ‘to fly ‘higher and higher, then he sailed down slowly. When he 
was ready he told the woman to be ready. ‘Then he came down to her 
and she got on his back and went down to the ground, though the 
Buzzard first flew a long way with her. When he had let her down he 
asked ‘her if she knew the way to her home. She told him that she 
did. He then told her that on the way she wouud find a dead buffalo to 
eat, to give her strength to reach home; that she must never repeat her 
talk about the stars; that had it not been for him she would have starved. 
Some other powers she got from the Buzzard after he had saved her 
life. She then left the Buzzard, but it would still fly around to see if 
she got home safe. She came to where the dead buffalo was lying and 
took what she needed and went toward her home. 

Arrived home, her parents asked her where she had been. She 
told them that through her foolishness she had been up in the sky and 
had been married to a star. She was asked how she got up there. She 
replied that in the fore part of the night when she had disappeared 
she had looked at the stars while lying in bed and pointed out a star, 
saying: “I wish that star were my husband ;” and that she had thought 
that perhaps the brightest stars we see had once been fine-looking 
young men in this world. She continued: “I went to sleep, and when 
I awoke I found myself up in the heavens. There I saw an old man 
who told me that he was the bright star that I had seen and had wished 
for my husband. The star forbade me to move a rock that I had seen, 
but once I thought I would see what it was, so I moved the rock. I 
felt the wind and saw this earthly world of ours. I made a rope from 
soapweed by which to descend. When I had made the rope [ tied one 
end to the rock, knowing that the rock could not come down on me. 
Thus I made my escape. I had thought the rope long enough, but when 
I came to its end I found myself above the tallest trees. It happened 
that a Buzzard flew around me and asked me if I was still alive. I told 
it that I was still alive, so he took me down and showed me my way 
here. He told me where there was a dead buffalo that I could eat, 
and he also guided me on my way home.” 

Ever since this time the people have feared to talk as the girl had 
talked about the stars, for fear that they might die, for the woman by 
her foolish talk and desire for the bright star for her husband was 
taken to the sky. Nor to this day do the people count the stars. They 
do not express desires about them, lest the thing desired happen. 


300 THE, MYTHOLOGY ROM) THEWWLOH IDA, 
58. THE MAN WHO WENT TO SPIRIT-LAND.* 


The real time of this story is after horses were known in this 
country, many hundred years ago, while the people were living down 
hete, 

Once upon a time there were two young men who had grown up 
together and were of the same age. In their early days they were play- 
mates, and the older they grew the better they liked each other. When 
they became grown, they went with war-parties like other men. They 
then became real friends, for they had made an agreement that each 
should share the home of the other. They offered their homes to each 
other’s people and they lived as one family, simply because they were 
fast friends. By their agreement they were both to die at the same time. 
If one of them was killed in battle, the other was to die, so that both 
should die at the same time, instead of one having to mourn for the 
other. They were always together, and whenever there was a war- 
party sent out they would go to war. According to Indian custom, 
any persons making this kind of an agreement were called brothers, 
and this is the way people regarded them. One of these brothers got 
married, but that did not have anything to do with their friendship; 
the other one always remained single. 

In those times there were a good many men who would get up a 
war-party and stay out on the war-path, one party after another. The 
two brothers would always ‘be in the same party and would never part 
from one another, on account of the agreement they had made between 
them. While out on an expedition, whatever they did in time of battle 
they would be together, and would not leave one another, and if they 
killed any enemy, the one who did the killing would present the scalp 
to the other. In these times a scalp was a fine gift, and many men 
made friends by presenting scalps to one another. On their return 
from the war-path, the one who had scalps would present them to his 
people. If aman was married he would present the scalp to his wife. 
When the brothers were out on the war-path together their people at 
home would keep the wife of the married brother and help her in the 
lodge at all times. A woman had to wear moccasins at all times during 
the absence of her man. She would have to go to the creek for an 
early morning bath. She was not to look around, but to look straight 
ahead. While going to or coming from the creek she was never to 
speak to any one, especially to the men folks, until her man came back 





*Told by Towakoni Jim (Towakoni). 


THE MAN WHO WENT TO SPIRIT-LAND. 301 


from the war-path. By doing all of these things a woman gave good 
luck to her husband who was gone on the war-path. When a woman 
did not do these things something often happened to her husband. 
Finally there was born to the married friend a boy baby, and dur- 
ing this time a war-party was sent out, and the married man’s friend 
went with the party. On account of the birth of the child, the mar- 
ried man remained home. ‘This war-party, on meeting some enemies, 
fought them, and the unmarried brother lost this life. When the battle 
was over the warriors returned home. On their arrival the news 
regarding the death of the unmarried brother spread. The married 
brother was left to mourn his friend. He thought to himself: “Now, 
if I had been there I surely would have died with him.” He often 
thought of committing suicide; but because he knew that if he com- 
mitted suicide he would never get to see any of his people in the other 
world, he was prevented from doing that. Besides this, he loved his 
wife and child; but still he mourned for the loss of his best friend. 
Whenever any war-party was sent out he would go along, expecting 
to die in some way, so that he could see his friend and be near him 
all the time, instead of mourning for him. | 
When the child was older his mother became sick and died. The 
father now mourned for both his friend and his wife. Of course, the 
grandparents took care of the child while the father went off by himself 
and mourned for the loss of his wife and friend. He would sometimes 
go to his wife’s grave and mourn there, and he would sometimes stay 
there all night, and time after time he went to his wife’s grave. 
No one knew how many times he went to the grave, but once when 
he went to the grave and was weeping he went to sleep and, in a 
dream, his friend appeared to him and talked. While they were talk- 
ing, he wished that the dream would come true. They were talking 
about how ‘lonesome the boy’s father was. While the man was dream- 
ing of this he was asked if he had thought a great deal of his wife 
while she was living. The man, in his dream, replied that he loved 
his wife, because she brought him the boy who was left with him in 
the world, and he loved the child because it was the only thing left 
him. His dead friend then asked him if he wanted to live with his 
wife again, and told the dreaming man that if he wanted to he could. 
The man said he would like to see his wife again and live with her 
forever. Then the dead friend said to the man that he had come after 
him, but that he must first say that he loved his wife; that at this time 
the women were having their Turkey-dance; that before he (the dead 
man) should take him there he should instruct him about some things. 


302 THE) MYTHOLOGY, OFTHE VWiCh iA: 


The dead man then said: “When arriving at the place where the 
dancing is going on I shall leave you to see your wife dance, and 
every time she dances around you must take one of the four mud balls 
that will be given you to throw at her. Every time you throw the ball 
at her you will hit her, and the fourth time you hit her with the mud 
ball she will leave the dancing and go off. You must follow her to 
her home, and on arriving at her home, the women and your wife’s 
people will pay no attention to you. On entering you must get along 
the best you can and seat yourself somewhere apart from your wife, 
and wait until your wife’s father speaks to you. The very first thing 
he will ask you will be, if you can. shoot good. He will tell you to get 
on a horse and go out to a certain place where there are four buffalo, 
in the open timber, and you will have to do pretty good shooting to 
kill one of these buffalo. If you wait a little too long the buffalo will 
get into the timber before you have a chance to shoot any of them. 
He will tell you to take a lump of fat from the shoulder of the buffalo, 
after killing the buffalo. You will have this for your use while there, 
for you are to do this four times. Four days you will be allowed to 
stay there, and after you have done all this you will be allowed to bring 
your wife back into the world. There is a little more for you to go 
through after you have taken your wife, and that is, to present scalps 
after your return to your home. Your father-in-law will send you 
four times on the war-path, successively, and during these times you 
must have nothing to do with other women, for, if you do, your wife 
will know it right away. If you go through all these things, you can 
do as you like afterward.” 

While the married man was getting his instructions he wished 
that the dream would come true. He soon woke up and there was his 
friend standing before him. His friend touched this eyes, and he found 
himself in another world, still with his friend. Around ‘him, as far as 
his eye could see, he saw lodges. They entered the homes of the dead, 
and finally came to the place where the dance was, and there the dead 
man left his friend. The live man saw his wife dancing, and as she 
came around, he threw one of the mud balls at her and ‘hit her, ds the 
had been told to do. She went around the pole that they were dancing 
around and when she came around again he threw another mud ball 
at her and hit her again. Every time she came around he threw at her, 
until he had thrown the last ball. Then she left the dance and went 
off to her home, and the live man followed her. When she entered 
her home he followed her in. Her people looked at him and put their 
heads down. Finally his father-in-law spoke to him, and asked him 


THE MAN WHO WENT TO SPIRIT-LAND. 303 


if he had come to see his wife, and the man told him that he had. 
The live man’s father-in-law then told him that on the next morning 
he would have to go on a buffalo hunt; that there would be a horse 
ready for him to ride; that there was a bow and arrows that he was 
to use to kill the buffalo; that after killing one buffalo he must cut 
some fat off of the shoulder, then with his foot he must kick the 
buffalo from behind, when the buffalo would come to life, rise, and go 
off. Besides this, the father-in-law told the man that he must sleep 
with his wife, but not be covered with the same blankets; that he was 
not to touch her in any way. He remained all that day and night. The 
next morning he obeyed his father-in-law’s instructions and started 
out for the buffalo. He went to the timber, where he was told that he 
would find the four buffalo lying down. As soon as he came to an 
open place he saw the buffalo, and he made the horse run at full speed, 
in order to reach them before they had a chance to get well away from 
him. Before they reached the timber he shot one, and the buffalo fell 
to the ground. The man then took his sharp flint knife and cut the buffalo 
open, as he had been told. He took the fat, then kicked the buffalo 
behind, as he had been told to'do. Then the buffalo rose and ran to the 
woods where the other buffalo had gone. The man brought the fat 
to his wife’s home, and kept it there for his own use while he was at 
his wife’s home. Late in the evening of that day he was told to go to 
the water to take a bath, and after taking a bath, to rub the fat all over 
his body. 

The man went on a buffalo hunt every morning for four morn- 
ings, and after the fourth morning he was told that he could live with 
his wife the same as he had done on earth. The next thing for the 
man to do was to take his wife home. The last thing he was required 
to do was to send out war-parties, after he should get home, and when 
coming home from war he must bring a scalp every time he should 
go out on the war-path. He was not to be afraid of getting hurt, for 
there was some one who would carry him through without injury. 
He must go on the war-path four times. During the dances after his 
return from the war-path he was not to associate with other women 
if he wanted to live with his wife again on earth. If he did associate 
with them he could not keep his wife, but if he should do as he was 
told in everything, he could do as he pleased thereafter. They were 
then told to go, for their child was crying for his father, and some 
of the people at home were getting uneasy because they suspected that 
he had committed suicide. 


304 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


The next thing he knew, he found himself on earth. He and his 
wife waited until night before they entered their home. About dark 
the woman asked her husband to go on home and have the place 
cleaned up, and to have the grass-lodge smoked with burning sage. He 
must tell his folks not to weep when she should enter, for that was a 
command they had to obey. The man went on to his home, and his 
people asked him where he had been. He told his mother to clean up 
the place and smoke the room; that he was going to bring his wife in; 
that when she should come in no one should weep; but they must be 
glad to see her again. He told them that if they wept they would do 
him wrong. The man’s mother at once began cleaning up the place 
and had it smoked up. Then the young man went after his wife and 
they went to his home, and the people were glad to see the woman, 
for they knew that it made the young man happy to have his wife back 
from the world of the dead. 

They had been at home but a few days when the young man got 
up a war-party and set out on the war-path. They were gone about 
ten or fifteen days, when they found some enemies and defeated them, 
and scalped many. On their return they entered their homes in tri- 
umph, and the young man’s name was on everybody’s lips and he was 
highly praised. When the dancing was going on at night he remem- 
bered about what he had been told to do. 

It was not very long before he sent out another war-party, and 
many of the men were anxious to go with him, so that a great war-party 
was led out by the man who had come from Spirit-Land. They met 
some enemies, and without losing any of their men they gained another 
great victory, having been on the war-path about twenty days. On his 
arrival he delivered some more scalps. He saved one to take to his 
wife’s people up above. The night after his return he took the scalp 
and placed it where he had placed the other, so that his wife’s people 
could get it. After he had offered the scalp to the dead people he re- 
turned to his home and joined in all of the dances. The dances con- 
tinued from morning till night, and from night till morning. He and 
his wife would go together to the dance, and the man’s wife would join 
in with some other women and dance with them. Usually the men did 
the singing, especially at the dances of the women. Long after the 
dancing ceased the young man sent out another war-party, and at this 
time a good many more men accompanied him, because they all knew 
that there was no doubt as to his winning a victory when he met the 
enemy. Again they returned home victorious, having met some of 
the enemy and fought with them without losing any of their own men. 
When they came home, their people met them before entering the 


THE MAN WHO WENT TO SPIRIT-LAND. 305 


village, and they presented the people with scalps, as they had always 
done when coming home from war. 

On the night following their return the man who had sent out 
the war-party went to offer this scalp to his wife’s dead parents. After 
doing this he returned to his home. The dance was going on and the 
people were having great times, in honor of their warriors. After he 
had eaten he went to the place where the people were having their 
victory dances. In these times a good many of the people would 
part from one another when any one would bring scalps home from 
war. The people called this “cutting-girths-from-the-saddle” (garles- 
teyosgox), which means, throwing the saddle off from a horse, for 
the men would throw one another away from a woman. The young 
man knew that his wife was not there to see him, and so he thought that 
while he had a chance to deceive her he would do it. He met a woman 
who was courting him since he made himself famous by going on the 
war-path and he stayed nearly all night with her. That night while he 
was asleep his wife, without telling him that she knew what he had 
done, left him permanently and went back to her dead people, for her 
man had done her wrong. If the man had gone with the woman 
after he had gone four times on the war-path and had presented scalps 
four times to his wife’s dead people, he would have won what his wife’s 
dead people had offered him. The next morning, the young man found 
that he was alone in bed, and he knew that his wife had left him and 
that now he had only his wife’s child. From that time on he went 
back to his wife’s grave, but there was no sign of anybody appearing 
to him, for he had not done what he had been told to do. When the — 
people found out what he had done they came around to see him and 
to tell him that he had done wrong. He told the people that he had 
been in another world; that a great many people were there; that he 
saw many people whom he did not know; that the people up there 
carried on the same customs that they did down here; but that the 
place was better than the earth. He also told them that those who 
died in battle and went there would enter that place happier than a 
person who had died of sickness. On account of this the men, when 
going out to war, fought bravely, so as to enter into another world 
happy instead of dying with sickness. The man told a good many 
other things that a person had to do and a good many things that were 
done at the dead man’s home. He lived many years afterward, and 
he mourned all the time during his life, but could never find out about 
his wife again. Nor did he ever dream about his wife or friend. 
When he died the people supposed that he had reached the homes of 
our dead people to live forever with his wife. 


3206 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 
59. THE MAN WHO RESCUED HIS WIFE FROM SPIRIT-LAND.* 


There was a time when a boy grew up with another person of the 
same age as himself. In their boyhood they were always good friends. 
Wherever one went the other had to go. They were always together, 
and like other boys, became warriors. When they had grown to be 
young men they still continued to go around together. When they 
started on their life as warriors they never parted. When they went 
to many battles they were together fighting, and would help one another. 
When any two persons did this in times of war, people used usually 
to call them fast friends; and especially, when they were in battle to- 
gether or gave scalps to one another, or horses that they had stolen, 
they were known as Nawadi. The boys were both single. When at 
home they would stay first at the home of one, then at the home of 
the other. In these homes they were considered as brothers, as they 
had been together so long as friends. 

One of them finally got married, and the other man remained un- 
married. When the one was married the other went about by himself, 
thinking that his friend had not fulfilled his promise to him that they 
were never to part so long as they lived, so that when the young man 
got married it somewhat dissolved their partnership. The young man 
would be on the war-path by himself and would still think of his friend. 
Once upon a time when the single man was to be with a party that 
went out on the war-path he undertook to die in battle, so that he 
might cease to think about his friend. When they found the enemy, 
they fought, and he was killed in the battle. When the rest of the 
warriors returned home they brought the married man the news that 
his friend had been killed in battle. The married man mourned con- 
stantly for his friend, and people asked him why he had not gone along 
to see ‘his friend die in battle and be with him when he died, and die, 
too, so he would not have to mourn for him; it being the custom that 
after two had formed a friendship of this kind, wherever one went 
the other was expected to go, and if one had to die in battle the other 
would die also, so that one would not have to mourn the other. 

Now the married young man’s wife died and left him with one 
child. This grieved him still more. He mourned continually. for the 
loss of his wife and for his friend. He would go to his wife’s grave, 
sometimes remain there all night, and come back to his home the next 
day. Then he would go back again. While he was there he fell asleep, 
and in his dream his friend appeared to him, saying to him: “Do you 





*Told by Killed-Enemy-in-Water (Wichita). 


MAN WHO RESCUED HIS WIFE FROM SPIRIT-LAND. 307 


love your wife, and do you love me?” ‘The married man said: “Yes, 
I love you both.” In his dream he thought to himself: “I wish this 
would come true and that I might see my friend and wife.’ So the 
dead man said to him: “It is true; wake up.” So he woke up and there 
was his friend standing right by him. His friend told him to come on 
with him. As they were going along he saw that he was in a large 
village, and it reached farther than his eye could see. Before entering 
the place his friend told him there was a dance there, and that his wife 
was dancing in a fine war dress, having a shield on her head; that when 
they should reach the place where the dance was he (the unmarried 
man) would leave him and let him watch his wife dance; that he would 
be given four hard, round clay balls to throw at his wife, each one of 
which, when thrown, could not fail to hit her; that when the last ball 
had been thrown, his wife would leave the dance without paying any 
attention to him and would go home; that he should follow his wife, 
and finally he would find her; that he must not say a word, but must 
sit down anywhere near the door inside the lodge; that for a while, 
people would not recognize him, and finally would ask him if he wanted 
to live with his wife; that when this question was asked he must say: 
“Yes, and I want my wife;” that he would be told to go to a certain 
place where there were four buffalo in an open place, and even though 
he were a good marksman, he would fail to kill one of the buffalo; 
that he must get on a horse, and run the horse at full speed in order ‘to 
get to them while they were getting up. The dead man also told the 
young man that the reason why the folks in the other world would 
not pay any attention to him was, that the people in the other world 
had a very different scent from the people in this world. So when 
they reached the place, the young man saw a dance called the Turkey- 
dance, which was being danced by women. There he saw his wife, 
and when she went around the pole to the side he was on he threw a 
ball of clay at her and hit her. When she came around again he threw 
another ball of clay and hit her again. The third time he threw another 
ball and hit her again. When she came around the fourth time he hit 
her again. The song ended and she left the dance. 

The woman went to her home, and her husband followed her. 
When she entered he entered the place, too, and sat down by the door 
of the tipi. The folks now recognized him, and he sat there for a long 
time before any of the folks said anything to him. The father of this 
woman finally spoke to the man and asked him if he was looking for 
his wife. He answered, saying: “Yes, I was looking for her.’’ His 
father-in-law asked him many questions; if he would be true to his 


308 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


wife, and if he would not think of any other wife but her. The young 
man said he would be true to his wife, because he loved her and he 
mourned her all his life until he had come to where they were, and he 
was anxious to live with her again, and would not for anything mis- 
treat her if he could live with her again. The young husband was told 
to go outside; that there he would find a horse tied; that he must ride 
to a certain open place surrounded by timber, where there were some 
buffalo; that he must get on a ‘horse and go and kill one of the buffalo; 
that after killing it he must cut it open along the back, take the fat 
off from the hump, then kick the buffalo once on the back and tell it 
to get on its feet and go. The young man went out where the horse 
was, with the bow and arrows and quiver that were given him. When 
he reached the smooth, open circular place surrounded by timber he 
saw in the middle of it four great, big buffalo sitting down. He made 
haste to reach them before they should rise. Now, it is natural for the 
buffalo, when he gets up, always to stretch before making any move- 
ment. When the young man reached the buffalo they started to run. 
The man cut one off from the group and shot it. The buffalo died. 
Then he did as he had been-told to do, cutting the buffalo’s back open 
and taking a piece of fat off from the hump, then kicking the dead 
buffalo once on the back and asking it to get up, for it was fast asleep. 
Then the buffalo rose and ran into the timber. When the man reached 
home he turned the horse loose and delivered the fat to his father-in- 
law. Still his wife made no sign of speaking to him. When the right 
time came the man was told to take a sweat bath; then bathe his body 
in incense; then use the fat, rubbing it all over him. This he did every 
day for four days, and when the four days had passed the man’s father- 
in-law told ‘him that he could take his wife back to his home, for their 
child was lonesome; that the child was crying every day for want of 
his father; that when the returned to his home he must get up a war- 
party and go out with it, and on his return bring back a scalp and put 
it away where the people could not find it before the proper time; that 
he must continue this until he hhad done it four times; that then he 
might live with his wife; that he was forbidden to have any other 
woman than his wife during this time. The young man was to secure 
four scalps for his wife’s people before he could live with his wife. 
The young man and his wife started for home. The woman ordered 
her husband to go ahead and have the grass-lodge swept out clean, 
and to have it smoked with white sage; then, after this was done, to 
come back after her, when they would both go on home. So the young 
man went on to his home and had these things done and at once turned 


MAN WHO RESCUED HIS WIFE FROM SPIRIT-LAND. 309 


back to go after his wife, having told his people that he had his wife 
back and that he had been for several days amongst the dead people. 
So they went on home, and reached the young man’s lodge. The very 
next day he got up a war-party, to be sent out by himself. Before start- 
ing out they took a piece of rawhide, in the place of a drum, and sang 
the war-party songs that we to-day still use. It was not very long be- 
fore the young man met some of his enemies, whom he killed and 
scalped. On his return he brought a scalp. The rest of the war-party 
also had scalps.- On their return they entered the village victorious.’ 
It being the custom to dance when a war-party returned they had all 
kinds of dances that night, and some dances in the daytime. So the 
young man had an easy time sending out war-parties, because he had 
aid from the dead people. It was customary in those times with a 
good many to dance with the ‘husbands or wives of others instead of 
their own ‘husbands or wives, and then to remain parted. Another war- 
party would be sent out, and on its return others would become hus- 
bands and wives. When the young man returned from his journey 
he, of course, in order that he might remain with his wife, avoided other 
women for a while. When the dances ceased, the young man again 
called forth this men, and when the men came together he announced 
to them that he wanted to go out on the war-path again. A good many 
wanted to accompany ‘him on the war-path again; for they knew that 
he had some power by which they could easily win their battle, as long 
as he was with them. That night he ordered a man to get a rawhide, 
and sticks with which to beat it. They at once began to sing the war 
songs, and all those men who were present at the singing were to go on 
the war-party, this being the general rule among the men. 

On the next morning the young man started off with his men. 
They were gone for about a month, when they found some of their 
enemies. The young man had foretold that they would find some of 
their enemies in a few days. According to custom, when they stopped 
for a night’s rest they smoked. First, the chief man, called the Head- 
Warrior (Tahadez), then his two other men, called Second-leading- 
warrior (Neeskaa), would pass the pipe around for his men to smoke. 
The young man had a war bundle, given him by his wife’s dead rela- 
tives. That is how he came to know so much about what he was to 
meet, and if ‘he were safe or in danger. So when they met their enemies 
the battle was easily won, and they scalped ‘their enemies. They then 
returned to their homes, and on their arrival the people praised them 
for their victory. At night they again commenced their victory dances, 
continuing to dance all night. The next day, the young man did as he 


310 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


a 


had been told to do, taking the scalp off to some place where there was 
no one and putting it away for ‘his wife’s dead relatives. When he re- 
turned home the dancing was already going on, and it lasted all that day. 
When night came the young man thought to himself: “Well, my wife 
would never know anything about it if I should dance with some other 
woman ; suppose I try it.” He said to himself: “My wife is on earth; she 
will not leave me again.” The dance continued, and he danced with 
another woman and that night was with her. ‘When he left her he went 
back home, and his wife was gone. The young man supposed his 
wife to have gone off somewhere with some other woman to dance. 
The next morning she did not return; for she knew what he had been 
doing just the same as if she had been with him. He began to mourn 
again and went to his wife's grave, but there was no sign of anyone 
appearing to him as his friend had done. So this was the man who 
told that there was such a thing as death and life again after death. 
He also told that a man who dies in battle will enter into the Above- 
happy-when-he-gets-there and be happy. This man lived for a while 
and finally died. 


60. THE CRIPPLED BOY WHO DISOBEYED THE GODS.* 


Many hundreds of years ago, when our people came from the north . 
on their way to this point where we are living, there was a village called 
Windy-Village-on-Hill-side (Setsketskalikatatish). In this village lived 
-Wrist-Guard-on-each-Wrist (Wychastaqual). When but a small boy 
he was crippled, and after he was grown up he was the ugliest man 
in the village. He was of no account for anything. During these 
times there were many men who had got great powers by visiting 
Windy-Village-on-Hill-side. Wrist-Guard-on-each-Wrist took a no- 
tion to visit this place. It took men one whole day to go there, and a 
day to come back; but it took Wrist-Guard-on-each-Wrist two days 
to go there. On ‘his arrival at the foot of the mountain he began to 
pray to the gods who were supposed to live in this mountain. He 
climbed the mountain and on reaching the summit he stayed there four 
days without anything to eat or drink. During the first night, before 
he went to sleep he could hear human beings talking, but could not see 
any one. While asleep he had all sorts of dreams, and when he woke 
up, about daylight, he could hear two stars talking together regarding 
him. They said to one another: “Well, we will all have to go on as 
long as the darkness continues.” Wrist-Guard-on-each-Wrist then 


*Told by Towakoni Jim (Towakoni). 


THE CRIPPLED BOY WHO DISOBEYED THE GODS. 31! 


rose from the place where he was sleeping and began to pray to the stars 
and the animal gods (Itsyascha). whom he thought would have mercy 
upon him and help him to become a famous man, and would give him 
power to become a better-looking man. He stayed another day until 
night. When darkness came he could hear some human beings talking. 
He understood every word that they uttered, until he went to sleep. 
He had not seen any one coming to take pity on him. About daylight 
he woke up and heard the animal gods talking about him; then he heard 
them say that they would have to go on, because it was nearly daylight. 
After hearing all these things again, he rose from the place where he 
was sleeping and began to pray as before. During the day he had 
nothing to eat or drink, and this was his second day’s fasting up on 
the mountain. When night came again he sat up until late, then went 
to sleep, having first heard some human being talking about his being 
there. He had a good many dreams, and about daylight he woke up. 
Then he could hear the animal gods talking to one another, going on 
to where they were all headed, for it was nearly daylight. Again he 
began to pray to the things that he had been praying to. He intended 
to stay until these animal gods did something for him, and so he 
prayed all day again, praying with all his might, but during the day he 
could see no sign of anybody who could take pity on him and give him 
some powers. Here he remained all day again, until night. As soon 
as darkness came he heard a good many people coming around where 
he was, but no one seemed to come close enough to be seen. Every one 
seemed to want to keep out of sight. When he grew tired of waiting 
for some one to come around he went to sleep on the same spot where 
he had been sleeping during the first two nights. He had a good many 
dreams, but none seemed true. At pretty near daylight he woke, and 
he could see the stars going, and every one seemed to talk about his 
‘still staying at the summit of the mountain seeking powers from the 
animal gods. They then said to one another that they wished some one 
would hurry and take pity upon ‘him, instead of leaving him waiting 
solong. They then talked to one another about having to go along, for 
it was nearly daylight. Wrist-Guard-on-each-Wrist then arose and 
began to pray with all his might to the animal gods, asking for mercy. 
He was about starved when two men came around where he was, say- 
ing to one another: “You go and see him, and tell him what we want.” 
Finally, one of these men came where he was and told him to rise, and 
insisted that he go along with them. When he came to his real senses 
he was following these two men, who took him to a large room in the 
side of the mountain. 


312 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


Upon entering the room he saw a great many men. He was asked 
to take a seat in the rear part of the room, in front of a man whom he 
thought was the head man of the animal gods. All at once the head 
man of the place touched his eyes, and he saw in place of the men 
who were all around him, all sorts of beasts and fowls of the air. The 
man who was sitting back of him was painted on his chin, and wore a 
sort of black robe. The different animals and birds were wearing 
robes of all colors. Some of the robes were of a sort of black and 
gray, while others were of dark gray. In this crowd he saw all kinds 
of eagles, and among them the bald head. The men who brought 
him down to this place were of rather dark complexion, for they were 
Crows, of two different kinds; one was called the Raven (Kawitarh— 
Buffalo-Crow), and the other was a common kind of Crow (Kawi). 
The two men asked the other men to do whatever they expected to do 
for Wrist-Guard-on-each-Wrist, and to make haste in doing it. Then, 
one at a time, these men (the beasts and fowls of the air) took their 
turn to give this poor man, Wrist-Guard-on-each-Wrist, their powers. 
The man who was sitting back of him was a Bear, and he did the first 
work in giving him his powers. He gave ‘him power to have good hear- 
ing and powers to send out war-parties and to cure sick people. Others 
gave him power to travel faster and not be troubled with lameness any 
more. Each of these beasts and fowls of the air gave him powers of 
all kinds, and gave him presents for his use in time of need, such things 
as war-bonnet, quiver with bow and arrows with it, and shield. The 
shield was made of the hide of the Buffalo bull who presented him with 
the shield. It was painted in all colors for his use. Now he had all 
sorts of powers, and great ones, too. Then they gave him something 
to eat and water to drink. After they had done all this he was told to 
return to his home, and to wear everything that ‘he had, but that he was 
not to arrive home during daylight, but at night, so that no one would 
see him or know who he was. They then told him that he should not 
have intercourse with a woman, and they warned him, saying that since 
his looks were changed women might notice him. 

Wrist-Guard-on-each-Wrist started home with all ‘his gifts, but 
on account of having these powers the load was easy for him to carry. 
While he was on the way home he would look at ‘his war-bonnet and 
the other things that had been given to him. He would try a good 
many things to prove his powers, and he wondered how he could in 
some way get a look at himself, to see if his looks were the same as 
when he left the mountains. When he came to a creek he looked for a 
still place in the water, and there he looked at himself and found that he 


THE CRIPPLED BOY WHO DISOBEYED THE GODS. ‘Sons 


was handsome. As soon as he saw himself and found himself to be a 
fine-looking young man he began to think of women, and of whom he 
should choose for his wife. On the following day he stopped for a 
while, trying to decide whether to wait until night, or to enter the 
village during the daytime. He thought this over and over again, 
deciding whether he should remain until night or whether to enter 
the village during daylight. He decided to enter the village during the 
daytime, and to make himself known to the people, and tell them where 
he had been since he had disappeared. He saw with his own eyes, on 
the edge of the village, men and women playing all kinds of games, 
arrow games, shinny games, and double-ball games. He especially 
wanted to pass near the double-ball game, because that is a woman’s 
game, and the could get a close view of the young women and be seen; 
then, when night should come, he knew that some one would come 
around where he was. After thinking all this over he went on to the 
village instead of obeying the animals who had forbidden him to enter 
the village during the daytime, and to ‘have any thought of women. 
When he arrived at the place where all of the games were being 
played he had on all his fine dress, his war-bonnet, shield, quiver, and 
a good many other things that he was carrying. Every woman turned 
and looked at him, to see who he was; but he was unknown to them. 
When he got right in the middle of the crowd he turned to the young 
men and young women and told them who he was and where he had 
been for the four days since he had disappeared; that he had great 
powers from the animal gods, including all the things he had and the 
change of his looks. He had been forbidden to tell this. When he 
reached home he told his people that he was Wrist-Guard-on-each- 
Wrist, once a crippled boy; but since he had been 'to Windy-Village- 
on-Hill-side he would no more be a cripple, for he had fasted upon the 
top of the mountain four long days and had received powers. He then 
put his things away, because he was now at home and thought no one 
could ever take away his things or his powers, since he was so far from 
the place where he had got his powers. At night great crowds of 
men came to visit him to see what sort of a man he was since being 
away. Women came and stood around outside, so that they might see 
him and get to marry him. That night, after everybody had gone out 
of the place, woman after woman came around, and they were refused 
entrance. Finally, a certain woman he wished for came around and 
went right to bed with him, for she thought that she was getting in 
bed with a fine young man. After they had gone to sleep all of his 
powers were taken away from him, and his good looks were changed, 


314 THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA. 


so that he became ugly as at first. He did not feel the change, and 
he knew nothing of it, nor did the woman know anything about it until 
the next morning. As soon as the woman saw whom she was sleeping 
with she left for her home, and was as ashamed as she could be. When 
Wrist-Guard-on-each-Wrist woke again this wife was gone, his powers 
and presents were all taken away from him, and he was again an ugly 
and crippled boy. 

Long afterward Wrist-Guard-on-each-Wrist thought that he would 
go back to the mountain and get back his powers; but when he visited 
the place there was no sign of anybody to take pity upon him, for he 
had lost all of his powers through foolish thoughts. Wrist-Guard-on- 
each-Wrist lived a long while. He was always ugly and crippled and 
never got any more aid of any kind. 


ABSTRACTS. 


FIRST PERIOD: CREATION. 
1. THE FIRST CREATION. 


Man-never-known-on-Earth creates land and water. Darkness everywhere. 
He makes man, Having-Power-to-carry-Light, and woman, Bright-Shining- 
Woman. They receive things through dreams. Woman is given Mother-Corn, 
to be food for people. Having-Power-to-carry-Light is drawn by man in grass- 
lodge toward east. There is light in lodge. Man of grass-lodge says more people 
will exist. While men are talking voice tells them to come and shoot deer. They 
are only to shoot last deer, which is half black and half white. Man of grass- 
lodge makes arrows. White deer, black deer, and black and white deer come out 
of water and man shoots last one. He follows deer and becomes Star-that-is- 
always-moving. Shooting black and white deer signifies there shall be days and 
nights. Having-Power-to-carry-Light sees man across water who says he shall 
be called Man-Reflecting (Sun) who will give light. Having-Power-to-carry-Light 
sees sun coming up. He returns home and has light to travel in. When dark- 
ness comes he sees three stars which are three deer, and fourth star which is man 
who wounded deer. Villages spring up. Having-Power-to-carry-Light and 
woman go from village to village teaching people how to make and use things. 
Man tells them about bow and arrows and gives men ball with string to it and 
teaches them how to play game. Teaches them shinny game. He tells them how 
to travel fast on arrows and ball. Man travels like spirit, is at place at once. 
Woman gives women Mother-Corn to plant to eat. They are to offer food to 
Man-never-known-on-Earth and rub over children before eating. The woman 
teaches them double-ball game and tells them use of ball in traveling. Says she 
will become something else, and that by her they will know whether they are 
pregnant. She teaches them to foretell things about to happen, and to make 
offerings to heavenly bodies and earth powers. Woman disappears and becomes 
Moon. ‘Man tells men that in bringing game from hunt they are to offer to 
heavenly bodies and earth powers. Says if children bathe before daylight they 
will get powers. Man tells them he will sometimes be seen in early morning as 
star and his name will be “Bringer-of-the-Daylight.” 


SECOND PERIOD: TRANSFORMATION. 
2. THE DEEDS OF THE COYOTE AND YOUNG-STAR. 


Coyote finds Young-Star and takes him home to play with his boy. Young- 
Star is wonderful boy and will not say where he is from. He and Coyote’s boy 
find black horse. They ride it home. Coyote tells family it is dangerous animal. 
Young-Star explains its use. Coyote thinks of moving to village to show off won- 

315 


316 ABSTRACTS. 


derful boy and wonderful animal. Young-Star goes off and Coyote starts 
east with old woman and children on horse. He whips horse to make it 
jump across canyon, and when it jumps family fall off and are killed. Young- 
Star takes blame on himself for not telling Coyote to look out for low place. 
Young-Star and Coyote go to village and are entertained by chief. Chief 
has pretty sisters, and Coyote desires to have them for wives. Next morning 
Young-Star sends Coyote to man and his sister living toward the north to beg 
for their powers. They have blue complexions. Man gives Coyote bow and 
sends him to cut four arrows, four dogwoods that say “me” first. All dog- 
woods cry out together and Coyote cuts anmful. Man chooses four and sends 
Coyote back with remainder. Man makes some arrows for Coyote and gives 
him shield and \war-bonnet. Tells Coyote not to think of any woman while he 
has these things; that enemy will attack village four times; that Coyote and 
son will have to do all the fighting, and that at end of four days he may do as 
he pleases about women. Man rubs Coyote’s eyes and he can see everything. 
Coyote has man’s blue complexion. He cannot be hit by enemies. Man says 
he belongs to Jay-Birds. Coyote stays in lodge with chief’s sisters. When he 
goes to bed women talk about him. In morning he hears cries that enemy 
attacking. As he goes through door one woman catches him and asks him his 
name. He says Owner-of-Flint-Knife-Quarries. He and Young-Star kill four 
enemies and each presents scalp to chief. After victory dances Coyote pays no 
attention to women. In morning there is same alarm, and Coyote starts out. 
Woman speaks to him as Hanging-Knife, and he says she is spoiling his name. 
Coyote and his son again take four scalps and present them to chief. Coyote 
joins in dances and on returning goes to bed of chief’s sister. In morning 
enemy again attack. Coyote and son again secure scalp for chief. Coyote 
notices some blue gone from himself to woman with whom he had slept. He 
and Young-Star join in dancing, but Coyote slips away early and goes to bed 
Women take turns to sleep with him. He hears arrows and bow talking about his 
not keeping agreement, and toward morning hears wind blowing inside lodge. 
He becomes real coyote and runs away when awakened by woman’s screams. His 
powers leave him. Young-Star leaves village, but gives bow. arrows, and other 
things and powers to be used by wanriors. He becomes Morning-Star. Chief's 
sisters bring forth young dogs, which people take home for pets. 


3. THE COYOTE AND HIS MAGIC SHIELD AND ARROWS. 


Coyote can not kill enough game to last long, as his children eat all meat as 
fast as he brings it. Goes to west, where man living by himself. Man gives him 
meat to eat. Coyote sees pole outside and asks man to give him one like it. Man 
tells him to come back next day. Next day Coyote goes back. Man tells him if he 
is brave and fast runner to go south to hill where three Buffalo of different sizes 
are sitting. He is to select Buffalo according to size of shield he wants. Coyote 
goes and asks for largest Buffalo to go with him. Buffalo chases him to man’s 
place. Man tells him to jerk Buffalo by horns. After three unsuccessful at- 
tempts Coyote jerks Buffalo and has shield. He then has bow and arrows given 
him. He shoots arrows in four directions and they kill buffalo and bring them 
to Coyote. He is warned to jerk Buffalo before sunrise and told that his arrows 


‘ 


ABSTRACTS. cay 


have life. Coyote returns home with shield, and bow and arrows. After eating 
he four times commands arrows to hunt, and they have plenty to eat. On his way 
to certain village Coyote meets man carrying large bow and arrow with blunt 
point. He asks if arrow is any good. Persuades man to shoot at him and goes 
good way off. Man shoots and Coyote tries to dodge arrow, but it goes through 
his back and out of his mouth. Coyote asks for power to be fine-looking and to 
have large bow and arrow. They go to stream, into which man throws Coyote, 
and he becomes fine+looking man. Man who appears to Coyote is Sun. Coyote 
journeys to village, where he finds high tipi. In morning he jerks Buffalo and 
has his shield. He ds challenged by man to dive in river to find out who can 
remain longer under water. Man had thus killed many of his enemies. Coyote 
dives and finds beavers’ lodge, in which he remains. In evening Coyote’s enemy 
appears, and the Coyote appears. Man asks Coyote not to be in hurry to kill 
him and then goes into air. Coyote shoots his large arrow, which brings man 
down. He burns body and pokes fire with stick, and many men who had been 
killed jump out. Chief makes Coyote one of head men and gives him sister for 
wife. Every morning Coyote jerks Buffalo by horns and makes shield, and com- 
mands arrows to go hunting. After time he lets Buffalo stand until sun gets up 
high, that more people may see shield. Buffalo gets angry and Coyote fails 
to throw him. Bow and arrows tell Coyote to go back home, as his children’s 
and wife’s food is nearly exhausted. He will not listen and Buffalo kills him. 
He then becomes ordinary coyote. His wife and children starve to death. 


4. THE COYOTE AND HIS MAGIC SHIELD AND ARROWS. 


Coyote resolves to go somewhere and starts toward west. He comes to tipi 
and sees large buffalo standing near. Swallow comes out, grabs buffala between 
horns and shakes it, and there is shield. Coyote enters tipi and Swallow gives him 
food. Swallow’s spittle is blue, and inside of his mouth greenish blue. Coyote 
asks him tto give him powers. Swallow asks if he is brave, gives him meat to take 
to his family, and tells him to come back. Coyote takes meat to family and re- 
turns to Swallow. Swallow asks if he is good runner. Tells him how to get 
shield, as in myth No. 3, and Coyote throws shield on pole. Swallow makes him 
four arrows and bow and instructs him how to use them and shield. He then 
takes Coyote to flowing water and throws him in. On coming out he is like 
Swallow, and his spittle blue. Coyote goes home and uses his powers, making his 
arrows hunt Buffalo. His family scream at seeing Buffalo standing at door of tipi. 
Coyote grabs it between horns and it becomes shield, which he lays on pole. 
When he has enough meat for his family Coyote goes again to Swallow and says 
he is going on journey. Swallow tells him that arrows will let him know when 
meat at home is gone and he must then return at once. Coyote meets Sun, man 
with large bow and blunt arrow, which he obtains, after experiencing its powers 
as in myth No. 3. He goes on to the village, chief of which entertains him. He 
turns Buffalo into shield and every one comes to see him. Next morning he 
sends his arrows to hunt buffalo, and whole village is then fed. Chief gives 
Coyote his sister for wife. Soon afterward bow and arrows and everything he 
got from him run away, and he is killed by Buffalo, as is related in myth No. 3. 


318 ABSTRACTS. 


5. THE GREAT SOUTH-STAR, THE PROTECTOR OF WARRIORS. 


Healthy-Flint-Stone-Man lives in village of many names with family of 
father, mother, sisters, and wife. He is a great hunter and warrior, and he 
sends war-parties against the Trickster people. When his wife is pregnant he 
tells her what to do when child is born; that he is to be called Young-Flint-Stone, 
and is not to know where his father is until he is old enough. Healthy-Flint- 
Stone-Man sets out on war expedition and goes so far that his men die of old age 
on the way, until only four are left. He keeps going on until these men give 
out one after another. He then goes on alone until he reaches cave, which he 
makes his permanent home. From here he goes to attack his enemies, whose 
heads he cuts off and hangs on a long pole. Son is born and grows rapidly. 
When he becomes man he asks mother about father. She says he has gone long 
distance tto live. Boy asks mother to grind meal enough to take him to his 
father. This she does and boy starts in search of father. He finds trail and 
after long while comes to man who had given out. Man is angry, but boy puts 
meal in man’s mouth. Man says it reminds him of village he had come from, 
and that boy is Young-Flint-Stone. Boy goes on and comes to second, third, and 
fourth men, each of whom is angry, but after tasting meal knows him. Fourth 
man tells him where his father lives, and that he will have to sneak around to get 
to his dwelling place or his father will kill him. Young-Flint-Stone goes on and 
manages to get in. Father will not believe him to be his son and tries to throw 
him. Young-Flint-Stone at last succeeds in putting meal in his father’s mouth. 
This reminds him of his village and he recognizes his son. He tells him he has 
come there to be near his enemies, and that he can not go back. His hair ds 
turning to flint stones. Young-Flint-Stone sees pole on which hang many skulls, 
old and fresh. He goes with father to attack enemy and each kills man. Young- 
Flint-Stone does not remain long. Father sends word to people that in next 
generation his place will be known as the Protector-of-Warriors, and that he 
will be seen as Great-South-Star. When they send out war-parties they are to 
offer him smoke for good fortune and victory. He sends scalp for his family. 
Young-Flint-Stone on his way home sees four men again, but they remain where 
they are. He reaches home safe, much to surprise of people, to whom he delivers 
scalp and gives account of his adventures. Young-Flint-Stone becomes a great 
warrior as his father, Great-South-Star, to whom he offers smoke. Young-Flint- 
Stone becomes a Star, Flint-Stone-lying-down-Above. 


6. THE GREAT SOUTH-STAR, THE PROTECTOR OF WARRIORS. 


In a village named as in myth No. 5, is famous man named Wearing-Flint- 
Stone-on-Top-of-Head. His father is chief of village, and he has mother and 
sister. Sister is married to famous warrior and becomes pregnant. He tells 
sister her child is to be called Young-Flint-Stone-Yelling-Boy, and that he will 
follow in footsteps of uncle. As in myth No. 5, this man goes out with great 
war-party. He goes so far that all return but four men, who gradually give out, 
however, and he goes on alone until he comes to hill, not far from village of 
enemies, where he lives alone. His nephew is born and grows so fast that he 
soon sends out war-parties. Other men tell him about this uncle’s going south 


ABSTRACTS. ASIC) 


and not returning. He tells mother he is going to look for his uncle, and that 
she is to make him two pairs of moccasins and grind some corn to remind his 
uncle of home. He takes them and some tobacco and sets out. After traveling 
far he comes in succession to four men who had given out, as in myth No. 5. 
They remember after smoking, and fourth man warns him of danger, that uncle 
is about tto turn to something, as his head is covered with flint stones instead of 
hair. Nephew enters place when uncle is asleep and gets hold of him as he 
awakes. Uncle will'not believe he is his nephew until he tastes meal which 
nephew puts in his mouth. Nephew then gives uncle pipe of tobacco to smoke. 
Uncle tells nephew why he has come there and next day takes him to attack 
enemy’s village. Nephew takes scalp of man with white hair dyed red. Uncle 
tells nephew about his powers and about his followers who are to think of him 
when on war-path. Generations to come will not have so great powers as he has. 
When going through Leader-of-War ceremonies they are to offer him smoke. 
He will be seen by them as South-Star. Uncle gives nephew red scalp for mother, 
which nephew takes home. Great bright star then seen, which nephew says is 
his uncle. He tells people of his adventures, and afterward shows them powers 
given him by his uncle. Nephew afterward seen ascending into sky and becomes 
Star. 


¢. THE GREAT SOUTH-STAR, THE PROTECTOR OF WARRIORS. 


The same as myth No. 5, with slight variation in names of village, etc. 
Hero is named “Protector-of-Warriors” instead of “Healthy-Flint-Stone-Man.” 


8. THE SEVEN BROTHERS AND THE WOMAN. 


Man named Mixed-Timber has power to change his looks, so that at some 
times he appears young, at others old and ugly. He goes to village’to carry off 
chief's wife, and appears as young man. He reaches chief's place, and wife sees 
him when she steps out for wood. She notices fragrant odor which comes from 
Mixed-Timber and she starts to see who he is. He keeps backing off and woman 
follows until they reach end of village. They go outside of village and Mixed- 
Timber then stops and says he has come long journey for her. They start off 
homeward, avest, and travel three days, and then come to lodge which woman 
is told not to enter until bidden. Wien she goes in she sees Mixed-Timber as 
old, ugly man, and his mother sitting by fireplace. After they have eaten together 
Mixed-Timber starts out on another hunting trip and mother tells woman that 
he drinks human blood out of a skull, and is a cannibal, and that if he gets 
hold of her hand she will be slain and butchered. Man returns next evening and 
old woman gives him human flesh for supper. After meal he asks woman to 
bring him fresh water. She goes to spring and finds skull, which she dips in 
blood and carries to man. Mixed-Timber reaches for her hand, which she jerks 
away. While Mixed-Timber is away mother tells woman that next time he goes 
hunting she should make her escape, as he intends to kill her. He returns again 
and sends woman for blood-water and he again tries to seize her hand. Man goes 
on hunting trip next day and woman is told to make her escape. She is given 


320 ABSTRACTS. 


double-ball and stick to go on. She puts water on fire, and as smoke goes up 
she goes up with it. Old woman tells her she will have to cross river and go to 
small hill where is little boy whom she must beg to save her life, for his people 
have great power. After woman lights on ground she runs for a while, and 
tosses double-ball, with which she goes up into air. Old woman tells man at 
distance of woman’s escape. Then she kills herself with club. Man returns 
and sees mother dead. He makes circuit and at last finds woman’s trail. He 
loses it where she tossed the ball. This she does four times, and after getting 
on feet again she runs a long way and comes to river. She finds Crane, on 
whose neck she crosses river. She sees Big-Belly-Boy and asks him to save her. 
He walks around, but agrees to do so, as Mixed-Timber comes in sight of her. 
They go to great stone, which boy removes, and in room is Man-with-Super- 
natural-Powers. Mixed-Timber arrives, and when people will not give up woman 
he begins to destroy little hill in which they ares Boy tells Man-with-Super- 
natural-Powers to make haste. Old man takes string from neck, which has 
something tied to it, and throws it up, killing man outside instantly. When 
Mixed-Timber is dead old man.tells woman to go, but at boy’s request she is 
allowed to remain. Old man tells woman his six sons will be in soon. When 
they come they stop and ask what is in lodge. Boy persuades them to come, and 
as they enter lodge they fall dead. Old man restores them to life and they 
are surprised to see what was done, as they had never seen a woman before. 
Woman explains to boy about husband and wife. She tells brothers, and 
woman is married to seven brothers. Boy is born to them. Six brothers go hunt- 
ing and are killed by two Double-Faced-Monsters. Old man brings them into 
lodge and brings them to life again. While walking around with boy, woman and 
child find lot of young Double-Faced-Monsters in cave. Their lungs are hanging 
on line across cave; boy punches them with arrow point, and all young ones fall 
dead. Woman tells boy about children’s games and persuades him to move 
lodge and others consent. They move toward the north. At dark, Man-with- 
Supernatural-Powers makes first grass-lodge by blowing in bunch of grass. 
Late on fourth day they reach woman’s village and old man makes grass-lodge 
to live in. They remain for a long while and boys marry. Child makes little 
boy cry, and as Man-with-Supernatural-Powers does not like it he says they had 
better move again. He takes them to sky, and woman goes with them. They 
are.the Seven Stars (Ursa Major), and old man himself is North-Star. 


9. THE SEVEN BROTHERS AND THE SISTER. 


Seven brothers with their five sisters live. with their father and mother. 
Brothers great hunters and warriors and have great powers on war-path. At 
home they play games, chiefly hoop-and-javelin. Each brother has a special 
power, and they are named accordingly. Large crowds go with them against the 
Tricksters. Woman comes to bed of oldest brother while at home. He marks 
her on back with white clay. Next day all women play double-ball game. He 
notices that his oldest sister bears mark. Next night sister comes to bed again 
and man strikes her all over with points of arrows. Woman goes away north 
and becomes Bear-Woman-having-great-Powers and carries off people to eat. 
Brother Great-Prophet says some beast has killed all people but their youngest 


ABSTRACTS. 321 


sister. Good-Sight looks and says it is Bear. Brothers keep watch of Bear and 
sister. Sister comes with sack for Indian turnips and short stick to kill jack 
rabbit. She tells brothers when Bear sleeps and that she can be killed by shooting 
in hands and feet. Bear suspicious that brothers have helped sister to get turnips 
and rabbit and makes her repeat killing of rabbit. Next time girl tells brother 
Bear is asleep. Sister goes north with Fast-Runner and other brothers go to 
where Bear is sleeping with hands and feet up. Four of them shoot at once, 
hitting her under feet, and then run north. Bear follows and gains on them. 
Oldest brother throws turtle shell on ground and many turtles crawl around. 
Bear stops to collect turtles and brothers and sister get long way ahead. She 
again chases and gains on them. Eldest brother throws red-colored stone on 
ground, and place is full of red-colored stones, which Bear wants for painting. 
Bear piles up stones and then pursues again. Eldest brother throws on ground 
fine dust from arrows, and there are big bushes from which arrows are made. 
Bear wants them and cuts them with teeth. She again pursues and gains on 
them and oldest brother says if she succeeds in passing next place they will 
have to die. He passes bow-string through left hand four times and throws 
it on ground. Deep canyon appears. Bear comes, and finding high cedar tree 
standing near canyon, she jumps on tree and climbs down. She climbs up another 
cedar tree and gets to other side of canyon. She again gives chase, and when 
party hear her talking they stop and sit down facing south. When Bear arrives 
she sits down and rolls up to them and stops them. Oldest brother takes feather 
from head and blows it. As it goes up, seven brothers and sister go up with it to 
sky, where they live as Seven-Stars, or Dipper. Bear scolds herself for not killing 
them at once, and goes back to canyon. In north are worlds of bears, because 
Bear went there and never returned. Brothers leave their power on earth for 
benefit of people. 


10. THE SEVEN BROTHERS AND THE SISTER. 


Coyote, who has power to trick people, wanders west and sees grass-lodge. 
He enters and sees woman alone. Woman gives him food and asks if he has 
any children. He says he has daughter about her age and resembling her. 
Woman asks him to bring daughter to live with her as she is alone during day. 
Her brothers come from hunt at night. Coyote promises to send daughter, and 
goes home with plenty of meat. He forgets what woman told him, as he has 
no daughter. Some time after, he leaves home to go to her. He goes into river 
and dives four times and becomes full-grown woman and similar to other woman. 
He puts robe around him after the manner of woman. Goes to lodge and makes 
noise to atract woman, who comes out. Coyote woman pretends to be shy and 
woman takes her into lodge, gives her food, and asks why father has not come. 
Brothers return from hunt and ask what smells so badly in lodge. Sister says 
she has woman to live with her while they are away. At last they go into lodge 
and see woman. When men look at her she is ashamed, but she is enamoured 
of them. After eating they go to bed, two women sleeping together. As time 
goes on woman asks Coyote woman how people obtain children. She says man 
and woman have to marry. After further conversation woman offers her brothers 
to Coyote woman to marry. Sister speaks to brothers, who refuse to marry 
Coyote woman, but finally they agree to have woman between them. Men take 
turns in sleeping with Coyote woman. Child is born and Coyote woman says 


322 ABSTRACTS. 


what has to be done and that men not to enter lodge for four days. On fifth 
day they come in and see child in cradle. Child grows fast and Coyote woman 
thinks of leaving people to marry chief of tribe. She goes away with child, but 
woman follows and ttakes them back. Next day she goes away again with child 
toward north. Woman tries to find them and fails. When brothers return they 
find sister crying. She tells them of woman’s desertion, and oldest brother says 
he always knew she was fooled. Next morning oldest brother asks sister for pot 
of water. They stand in group and pour water on fire, and as smoke goes up 
they go up too. When up high they see Coyote woman and boy and go after 
them. They overtake them and get child. Brothers and sister with child go 
up into sky and become stars of Dipper. Sister also becomes ‘star, but does 
not stay with brothers. Child is small-star which is first with one of seven stars 
and then with another. Coyote jumps, but finds she is coyote again. He returns 
home, but sees only hair and bones, the remains of his family. He goes off to 
prairie and cries as coyotes cry. 


11, THE OWNER OF BLACK-AND-WHITE-KNIVES AND HIS SON. 


Father, mother, and daughter live out by themselves. Woman goes out after 
wood. Arrow which she picks up is claimed by fine-looking young man Owner- 
of-Black-and-White-Flint-Knives. She refuses to give it up and young man starts 
back toward west. She follows, and when man stops she can not turn back, he 
having charmed her. At night man makes her lie down by herself. At end of 
fourth day they arrive at home of man. He has mother and four sisters. Man 
and sisters have different meat from old woman’s. Old woman and stranger 
sleep together. Next morning young man goes hunting and sisters go swimming. 
Old woman tells young woman that her children eat human flesh and that son 
has great power to attack human beings. One day old woman and young woman 
pound corn into meal and after others have gone to sleep they putt meal into 
young man’s mouth and make him eat it. He says they have taken away his 
powers and afterwards he hunts all kinds of game. Four women go to lake 
and cease to return. Young man calls together wild animals and fowls. He 
tells them he wants his sisters, and whoever gets their clothes and brings sisters 
home shall have them for wives, but that they will have to run hard, as if over- 
taken they will die. All agree, and Jack-Rabbit tries first. He runs away with 
clothes, but women overtake and kill him. Four women are ducks, and fast 
runners and swimmers. Hawk tries ‘his luck, but is killed. Small-Hawk takes 
clothes and being fastest runner known gets into lodge with them just as women 
pass door. They come and beg for clothes, but brother tells them they must 
come in. They do so and Small-Hawk becomes their husband. Brother’s wife, 
who has come long distance, is pregnant and he thinks he will take her back 
home. They start on journey, and when they stop, man tells wife to get much 
wood, as some one will be around at night to fight him and they must keep fire 
burning all night. He says, as he has lost power, he will be killed, and instructs 
her how to do about the child, who is to be called Young-Flint-Knife. At night 
creature comes and tries to pull man from fire. They struggle all night and at 
dawn they part. Next day they go on, and in afternoon gather much wood. At 
night foe, who is Double-Faced-Monster, comes again. This occurs again next 
night, and on following day man tells wife she will have to go home alone as he 


ABSTRACTS. Bee 


will be carried off. He says she is not to tell his son about him until he is old 
enough, and he is to have father’s elk-horn bow and arrows to play with. Double- 
Faced-Monster comes again at dark and after struggle carries man off, fire 
having gone out. .Wife reaches home and tells them what has happened. Child 
is born and is called Young-Flint-Knife. He sits down and calls for something 
to eat. Mother gives him black stone and white stone, which she says is his food. 
He grows and becomes famous and has great powers. When he hears that his 
father has been carried away he asks mother for meal and starts in search of 
him. He finds trail of Double-Faced-Monster and follows it to deep canyon. 
He sees father ‘and slides down steep wall to him. They go to caves and see 
young Double-Faced-Monsters. Their hearts are hanging up and Young-Flint- 
Knife sticks his arrow into them, one after another, asking whose they are, and 
all are killed. Young-Flint-Kinife goes with father to deepest place in creek and 
asks him to dive in. He does so and comes out of water same in appearance 
as when carried away. They go to home of young man, who is now much 
stronger than his father. Soon after Owner-of-Black-and-White-Flint-Knives 
asks his son to come with him and become something else. At night they go 
up into the sky and become stars and are called “Flint-Stone-Lying-down-above.” 


12. THE DEEDS OF AFTER-BIRTH-BOY. 


Two villages are near together. Chief of one village has girl, that of other 
village has boy. Boy and girl are attracted to each other and marry contrary 
to custom of families. They leave and start on journey to look for new home. 
They select place near river with timber. Woman builds grass-lodge and man 
becomes hunter. Woman becomes pregnant. One day man tells wife that she 
is to fix meat for some one who will come and eat when he is gone. She is not 
to look at him, but is to get into bed and cover herself up. Man goes hunting. 
Wife hears some one coming and covers herself up in bed. Person enters and 
eats meat and then goes away. ‘Tihis takes place every day. At last woman has 
in mind to try to look at person. She bores hole through robe and puts piece 
of hollow grass through. Person comes and eats and as hhe starts away woman 
peeps through grass. She sees that man has double face and mouth on back of 
neck. Man tturns back and says she has looked at him. He comes to her, kills 
her, and cuts her open, taking child out of womb. He wraps child in robe and 
then thrusts stick into after-birth and throws it into water. Man returns from 
hunting and finds wife dead. Takes her body some distance and Jays it on 
ground. ‘Coming back he hears child crying. Finds boy and he grows rapidly. 
Takes it with him when going hunting until old enough to play alone. Man then 
makes bow and arrows for him and shinny ball and stick. Man now leaves boy 
at home. Another boy comes to play arrow game with ‘him. Strange boy wins 
all arrows from other boy and then goes off into water. Tells lodge boy they 
are brothers and that he is not to tell father of his coming. When father comes 
back he asks what boy has done with arrows. Boy says he has lost them, but 
refuses to go with father to look for them. Man makes fresh arrows. Next day 
man goes hunting and strange boy comes again to play. He wins all lodge boy’s 
arrows and goes to water again. Father on return asks boy what he has done 
with arrows and he says he has lost them shooting birds. Father believes him 
and makes other arrows. Strange boy comes third day with same result as 


324 ABSTRACTS. 


before. When father asks boy about arrows he tells him about strange boy— 
that he has tail like poker stick, and goes into water, and calls him brother. 
His name is “After-birth-Boy.” Father finds out that strange boy is his son and 
arranges with son to attack him and make him stay at home. Next day father 
stays at home and tells son to invite strange boy into lodge and while examining 
his head hold him by hair. Father then turns into fire-stick. Strange boy comes, 
but when he enters lodge he detects father and goes back into water. Next day 
before “After-birth-Boy”’ comes father hides behind door and turns into stem 
of grass. After-birth-Boy comes and is enticed into lodge to eat. They examine 
each other’s heads and lodge boy tangles A‘fter-birth-Boy’s hair. Takes hold 
of it and calls father. After-birth-Boy drags them to river, but then consents 
to live with them. When released he jumps into river and comes back with 
arm full of arrows. Father makes shinny ball and two sticks and more 
arrows with netted ring. Tells boys not to roll it toward west, and forbids 
them to go to place of Spider-Woman, Thunderbird, Double-Faced-Monster, 
and Headless-Man. Soon after After-birth-Boy asks brother to go with 
him to Spider-Woman. They shoot birds and give them to Spider-Woman. 
She puts them into pail of boiling water, but they upset it and scald her to 
death. Boys go to see Thunderbird’s nest. After-birth-Boy climbs tree and 
Thunderbird tears off all his limbs. He reaches nest and kills two of young 
birds. He slides down tree and brother puts his legs on again. Boys find long 
stone on ground and take it to father to sharpen knife on. He tells them it is 
their mother and makes them take it back again. Next day boys go to caves of 
Double-Faced-Monsters. They find young ones. They see lungs hanging in cave. 
After-birth-Boy strikes them with point of arrow and kills all Double-Faced- 
Monsters but one young one. This they take home as pet for father, but he 
makes them take it back again. Several days afterward they take shinny ball 
and sticks and go to where Headless-Man is. He tells them they must play 
shinny game, and die if they lose. Asfter-birth-Boy sends brother west and says 
they will send ball back and forth to wear Headless-Man out. ‘They do so and 
when Headless-Man is tired After-birth-Boy knocks ball over creek, which is goal. 
Then he passes bow-string four times through his hands and kills Headless-Man 
with it. Boys’ ball and sticks green, representing spring of year. Boys take. 
netted ring and roll it toward west. They run after it and can not stop. Ring 
rolls into lake and boys find themselves inside great water-monster. Father 
finds they have gone, and he becomes star in sky. Boys stay long in monster and 
then After-birth-Boy passes bow-string four times through Jeft hand and swings 
it around. Monster goes up and falls on dry land. They get out and find it is 
great fish. Boys start for home. Find no trace of father. Vines grown over 
lodge. At last After-birth-Boy finds father’s track and at night they see his 
star in sky. After-birth-Boy shoots arrow into sky and drop of blood falls on 
his hand, showing that star is father. He then shoots two arrows, by which boys 
climb up into sky to their father. They are boys who killed all meanest beings 
that lived in those times. 


13. THE THUNDERBIRD AND THE WATER-MONSTER. 


In village are two chiefs. On east side Thunderbird is chief, and is liked by 
all but Evil-Spirited-Persons. In games life of person is wagered. Coyote, 
nephew of Thunderbird, goes to play hand-game and asks uncle to go with him. 


ABSTRACTS. 325 


Uncle long refuses, but at last consents. On entering lodge where hand-game 
is going on, Thunderbird is asked to sit on high hump which is covered up. 
After game people leave and Thunderbird starts to rise, but finds he is stuck to 
hump, which begitis to move. It is water-monster and moves toward lake. 
Thunderbird tells Coyote that so long as he can see tassel at end of bow he will 
know that his uncle is alive. Monster goes to bottom of lake, and water goes 
over head of Thunderbird and then tassel at end of bow disappears. Soon after- 
ward every one leaves village. Only old man and woman and two grandsons 
remain. Boys shoot birds near lake for fun. One day they hear singing. They 
tell grandparents, and old man tells them of drowning of Thunderbird, who must 
be singing. He says if there is any flesh on him he is still alive. Old man 
instructs boys to heat many rocks and throw them intto lake. They do so and 
lake dries up, showing water-monster. All go to lake and cut up monster. 
Inside are bones of Thunderbird. They find some pieces of flesh on bones of 
fingers. Bones are put in grass-lodge, which is set on fire. Old man calls on 
Thunderbird to come out, and fourth time he comes out same as before and 
having his bow and arrows. He asks first where people are. Thunderbird goes 
hunting every day and when boys grow he gives them power to become great 
hunters. Many people gradually return to village, Coyote among them. He 
finds his uncle alive and they are first and second chief. All people remain 
human beings, except those who went off and never returned. 


14. THE DEEDS OF WETS-THE-BED. 


Three chiefs who paint themselves differently live in village. War-parties 
go out against Tricksters to entertain themselves. Old man and old woman, who 
are very poor, have grandson, Wets-the-Bed. Boy hears of war-party and de- 
termines to go. He follows trail. Is ordered back, but chief allows him to 
accompany them. When near enemy’s village men take off robes and leave them 
in charge of Wets-the-Bed. When they have gone he jumps into creek and 
comes out changed to man. He goes on to village, enters ahead of war-party, 
having red war bonnet and carrying war-club. He goes through village fighting 
people, and returns to creek, dives in and comes out as he was before. People 
talk about strange man seen in lead. Long after there is another war-party and 
Wets-the-Bed again follows. Leader tells people to keep their eyes on person 
who should be in lead on attack. Again men leave robes with Wets-the-Bed, who 
again changes himself and heads attack on village as before. This happens four 
times. Leader wonders who it can be who is faster runner than himself. He 
calls all men together and offers his girls to man who can prove he arrived at 
village before rest of warriors. Wets-the-Bed proves he was the man. Oldest 
girl does not like him and allows younger girl to live with him. One day while 
men are slaughtering buffalo Wets-the-Bed sends grandfather to bring him some 
intestines. He grabs intestines and as punishment holes are bored through cheeks 
and hide tied through them. He returns ito boy, who goes and dives in creek, 
coming out same as when with war-party. He goes and finds man who cut his 
grandfather’s cheeks and serves him in same way. After reminding people of what 
ihe had done he goes to creek and again changes himself. People talk and chief 
has largest tipi prepared for grandparents of Wets-the-Bed, who goes back to 
wives. He takes his young wife to creek, and after diving in he throws her in 


326 ABSTRACTS. 


and they are both changed. When older sister sees change she wants to sleep 
with Wets-the-Bed. She has to be satisfied to lie near bed and make a step 
for them. Wets-the-Bed recognized as good son-in-law. Finally chief appoints 
him head chief in his place. He treats everybody right. Chiefs paint themselves 
differently. Wets-the-Bed has war-bonnet of hair, dyed red and yellow. He 
is troubled about old chief's oldest daughter and announces he wants to go where 
he came from, and wants people to do as they please about themselves. He calls 
himself Red-Star and says he got his powers from Shooting-Star. Other chiefs 
turn into Swift-Hawk, Buffalo-Crow, Eagle, Black-Eagle, respectively. People 
pour water on fire, and smoke goes up. Some fly into air, others go as animals, 
some to timber, some to prairie, and some to water. Those that remain continue 
human beings. 


15. THE DEEDS OF WETS-THE-BED. 


Wets-the-Bed lives with grandparents, who are abused by Coyote. Young- 
Man-Chief is only friend of Wets-the-Bed, who is also called Corn-Meal-Boy, 
because he eats at mortar where corn is grinding. Four beautiful girls, sisters, 
tell grandfather they want to form war-party against the Tricksters. He shows 
the contents of four war bundles and explains use of pipe. He fills pipe with 
tobacco and girls take it to Young-Man-Chief. He smokes it and becomes leader. 
Corn-Meal-Boy tells old folks he wants to go with war-party, as sisters promise 
to be wives of one who first sees enemy. He follows war-party, but Coyote sends 
him back. Young-Man-Chief and Coyote go in advance as spies and Corn- 
Meal-Boy gets before them. They try to drive him back, but the persists in fol- 
lowing and chief carries him on back. Spies rest and Corn-Meal-Boy goes on 
and sees smoke. There is village of Tricksters and Coyote begs Young-Man- 
Chief to tell young women that Coyote had found enemies. Young-Man-Chief 
tells story of discovery and gives credit to Corn-Meal-Boy. Three older sisters 
refuse to accept him as husband, but youngest one takes him and they are mar- 
ried on war-path. Village is attacked and Corn-Meal-Boy gets in first. Young- 
Man-Chief gives prisoner to him and his wife. Other sisters object so much to 
Corn-Meal-Boy that his wife moves to where he lives. He sends his grandfather 
to get some tripe at buffalo killing, and some one cuts his hands and bores hole in 
cheek and ties string through. When Corn-Meal-Boy sees this he, dives in water 
and comes out a fine-looking man having war-bonnet and short club. He pounds 
on chief’s doors, hits Coyote in ribs, and bores hole in cheek of man who had 
cut his grandfather and ties string through it. Chiefs offer pipes to Corn-Meal- 
Boy, but he will smoke only at request of Young-Man-Chief. New home is 
built for Corn-Meal-Boy’s people and the takes wife to water. When she comes 
out her appearance is changed. When sisters hear they go to see her. They want 
Corn-Meal-Boy for husband, but wife objects. He is seen by people only when 
they go on war-path. Coyote claims to be first to attack, but it is always Corn- 
Meal-Boy. Shows dirty string he wore around neck as Wets-the-Bed, and it is 
his war-bonnet. It shines like fire when he goes in lead of war-pasty. When 
Corn-Meal-Boy has shown many supernatural powers and given powers to men 
he goes up in sky. He is called “First-seen-by-War-parties,” and appears to 
people as shooting-star. 


ABSTRACTS. (327 


16. THE THUNDERBIRD WOMAN. 


Three people live together in grass-lodge, in front of north door of which 
stands large cottonwood tree. They are Thunderbird-Woman, Little-Big-Belly- 
Boy, and the Libertine. Libertine hunts and is very strong, but can not lift little 
things. Piece of grass falls on his back. He asks boy to help him, but for fun 
boy lets it stay until Libertine gives out. Then boy takes it off. To cure soreness 
Libertine takes cottonwood tree out by roots and stands it on his back, with 
other wood, and sets it on fire. Next morning ‘he goes hunting and brings home 
live buffalo. Buffalo will not let boy out of lodge. At last Libertine takes 
buffalo and makes robe out of it for boy. Boy catches mouse and ties it by neck 
near door. Libertine is afraid and asks boy to release mouse. Boy remains in 
bed and laughs at Libertine, but finally, at his request, takes mouse, shakes it and 
makes robe for Libertine. Robe is too heavy for him and boy has to remove it... 
Boy tells Libertine something is coming to carry him off. Libertine shoots arrow 
through tree but boy says that is not enough. Sun-Buzzard, having body covered 
with sharp flint stones, comes and carries off Libertine, who tries, but fails, to 
shoot it. He carries Libertine to his nest. Young ones pick at him and he kills 
two of them. He descends tree and by means of string parts water and runs 
across place. Libertine returns home. Sun-Buzzard comes again and Libertine 
leads other two to mountains, through which he carries them on his back. Sun- 
Buzzard follows them, but it falls down and Libertine kills it. Libertine is afraid 
something will happen to them again, and so he goes to woods and becomes 
Big-Red-Water-Worm. TThunderbird/Woman goes north and calls herself 
Rain-Woman, and Little-Big-Belly-Boy flies toward prairie and becomes Linnet- 
Bird, or Dry-Grass-Bird. 


1¢. HEALTHY-FLINT-STONE-MAN AND WOMAN HAVING-POWERS- 
IN-THE-WATER. 


Flint-Stone-Man marries pretty woman in village. Strange woman comes 
and asks wife to go with her to get wood. She goes with Litle-Old-Woman and 
cuts wood for both. Little-Old-Woman kneels and wife helps her with her pile 
and then she helps wife. They return home. Little-Old-Woman comes second 
time and they go further away to get wood. Wife cuts two piles of wood and 
Little-Old-Woman helps her first with her pile. Little-Old-Woman tells wife 
if she will go with her to fetch wood four times, she will need no more help 
from her. Third time wife goes with Little-Old-Woman and they go much 
further to get wood. Little-Old-Woman comes fourth time. They go twice 
as far as before. When wife cuts wood, wife tries to persuade other to kneel 
finst by pile. Finally wife kneels and old woman tightens carrying ropes around 
her neck, so that she falls dead. Then she blows into top of her head and 
blows skin from her, hair and all. Old woman then puts on skin and by stretch- 
ing makes it fit her. She then throws body into flowing water. Old woman takes 
pile of wood to her new home. Chief does not discover change, as old woman 
knows all about wife’s ways. Time comes for skin to decay and hair to come 
off. Old woman pretends to be sick, but refuses to be doctored, and chief hires 
servant, Buffalo-Crow-Man, to doctor her. He says she is fraud, and after sing- 
ing song four times decayed hide comes off from her. Men take old woman and 


228 ABSTRACTS. 


kill her. Man says he has seen choking of wife by old woman and tells where 
she has thrown body. Chief goes to place and stays all night and next day weep- 
ing. He goes again and third time he hears singing coming from river. He goes 
and listens. It is his wife’s voice. She sings song four times, and then he sees 
wife standing in river. She tells his parents to clean grass-lodge and purify 
room by burning sage, and then he is to return for her. That is done and he 
takes her home and they live long together. Finally Flint-Stone-Man goes toward 
south to become flint stone. His wife becomes Woman-having-Powers-in-the- 
Water, and many people become flint arrows and animals, some remaining as 
human beings. 


18. THE HAWK AND HIS FOUR DOGS. 


Near village lives man, wife, daughter, and son. Son has four dogs, white, 
black, red, and copper color. Dogs always kept tied up. Boy hunts, and tells 
father, mother, and sisters if dogs get uneasy they are to be untied, as boy 
will then be in danger. Boy meets two good-looking women, with tattooed faces, 
and wearing buffalo robe. They ask him to go with them. On their way north, 
they ask him what he can do to escape if attacked by enemy. He tells them of 
his powers. They see herd of Buffalo, and when they are near women become 
Buffalo and boy disappears. Women tell Buffalo they must stamp ground where 
young man disappeared. They stamped ground, but he has become ant and 
crawled away and then gets on this feet and runs for his hfe. Buffalo run after 
him and he becomes small bird. Women tell Buffalo again to stamp ground, 
but he thas crawled away and again run away. Buffalo run after him and they 
see him shoot his arrows, which carry him along with them. When last arrow 
used young man climbs elm tree. Buffalo gather around and hook tree. Young 
man’s dogs grow restless and father cuts ropes and they go to his rescue. As 
tree falls dogs come and chase Buffalo away. Young man goes home, but never 
sees dogs again. After a while, to prevent further accident, he and father, mother, 
and sisters fly away and become hawks. Then old home is changed to tree, and 
meat to bark of tree. 


19. THE STORY OF CHILD-OF-A-DOG. 


Old woman and granddaughter are living apart by themselves. Granddaugh- 
ter has small dog. Old woman tells granddaughter that if man asks her to be 
his wife she is not to refuse, as she will have child. Dog becomes pregnant 
and is put in small grass-lodge. Girl goes and peeps into lodge and sees child, 
instead of puppies. They make bed for dog in lodge. Child-of-a-Dog is cared 
for by girl and soon begins to walk. Has bow and arrows and shoots birds, and 
when young man goes hunting two women come and ask to be engaged to 
Child-of-a-Dog. He rejects them, but afterward follows them. They request 
Child-of-a-Dog to shoot Squirrel. He does so, but it catches limb of tree. He 
climbs tree to get squirrel, but his hands and feet stick and women leave him to 
starve to death. His father, Wind, comes and releases him. Tells him not to 
follow women, but he does so and they take him home. They say he can have 
other two sisters for wives. Their brother tells him that other two women 
are married to four brothers, who eat human beings. Further that he will have 


ABSTRACTS. 329 


to run race against four brothers. Two sisters advise him about race and give 
him seven things to aid him, and also soft, white feather. They tell him not to 
drink from gourds of sisters, and to shoot his opponents. In morning Child-of-a- 
Dog takes bath and then goes to meet opponents. Objects to starting-point three 
times as not being far enough. Brother-in-law does first part of race. Then 
Child-of-a-Dog begins race and, to get before brothers, drops comb, which causes 
thick burrs. These impede brothers, who command wind to blow. Child-of-a- 
Dog can not travel rapidly now, and he makes wind to go into gourd. Child-of- 
a-Dog overtakes brothers and he throws piece of clay, which makes boggy place 
for other men. They again overtake Child-of-a-Dog and command it to snow. 
This contest of powers goes on until final race, when Child-of-a-Dog puts waving 
feather on head, which makes him light. He runs against oldest brother, who 
has to pack him on his back and soon gives out. The same result attends race 
with other brothers, and Child-of-a-Dog wins. Tiwo women offer him drink from 
their gourds, but he refuses it and his wives give him drink. Child-of-a-Dog 
_turns back and shoots his opponents and makes them Buffalo. Two women and 
two wives contend for him by hauling wood and carrying water, and wives win. 
Bad women become Dog and Hawk, that they may have man to themselves. 
Child-of-a-Dog goes on visit to other village and when he sits down on robe he 
falls into pit. He hears them tell people to bring hot ashes to throw into pit. He 
digs hole on side and is safe. People go hunting, leaving him to die. People 
in timber remove ashes and get Child-of-a-Dog out of pit. He goes to creek, 
dives in and is as before. He remains with people to hunt for them and then 
follows those who have done him harm. He catches up with them, and after 
dark whistles four times. Dog who was former wife comes and he then shoots 
four arrows in different directions. Fire comes up. Dog tells him that mother 
and old woman are dead and that young woman is in danger of being killed 
by husband. Child-of-a-dog at once departs for home. East of house he sees 
woman sitting on bank of pond watching ducks swim. He shoots duck. Woman 
sees it is her son’s arrow and turns around. He takes her home. When husband 
comes in Child-of-a-Dog takes bow-string and casts man into ground and he is 
Wood-Rat-Man. Woman sees six deer, which Child-of-a-Dog follows and kills. 
While cooking meat, two women come and ask for food. Older woman asks 
for liver before it is ready to be eaten. She asks for more meat and finally 
whole deer eaten. When two deer have been eaten woman says man shall be 
her .son-in-law. When they have eaten third deer, woman goes out and other 
woman tells him about older woman and her daughters, who have teeth in their 
vaginas. Woman returns and again asks for meat, but before fifth deer eaten 
daylight appears. Child-of-a-Dog goes with women and is taken to place where 
two young women live. Old woman sends him for dead burnt log to burn while 
she is asleep. He goes to other woman’s place and she gives him ear of black 
corn and tells him it will turn to log and he is to push it into lodge. She also 
tells him not to sleep first night, as old woman will come to kill him if girls do 
not. He takes log, and as he pushes it into lodge woman tries to hit him on head 
with club. At sundown young people go to bed and old woman snores, but 
during night she comes to see if girls have caused man’s death. He does not 
have intercourse and gets up early and goes out. Next day old woman sends him 
to get two logs, and he is given two ears of black corn, also two long hard stones 
to use on girls. After killing one he can escape with other to high hill westward, 
where is woman with many children, who can save them. Woman puts ears of 


330 : ABSTRACTS. 


corn on fire and says this will make old woman go to sleep and she will not wake 
until he is long way off. ‘Child-of-a-Dog 1s also given long feather to use over 
fire. If it goes up in air, they will go with it. He takes ears of corn which 
girls take into lodge. Some time after they have gone to bed, old woman sleeps 
and snores. Child-of-a-Dog uses stone on more cruel girl and kills her. He 
renders other girl harmless and tells her she is to be his wife, but they have to 
leave place. They stand near fire, and when Child-of-a-Dog puts feather over fire 
feather flies up and they go up in air with it toward west. When they have gone, 
woman who gave power to Child-of-a-Dog deserts ‘her home and jumps from tree 
to tree and causes old woman to lose her trail. Child-of-a-Dog shoots his arrows 
and he and girl fly with them. His power. is exhausted and they hear old woman 
at a distance saying she has found their trail. Woman then throws double-balls, 
and they travel on them. She does this four times and then they see place of their 
retreat. Little-Spider-Woman arrives and threatens to kill woman if she helps 
Child-of-a-Dog and his wife. Buzzard-Woman gets under old woman and flies 
into air with her. She flies higher and higher until they can not see them any 
more. Then they hear something fall, and Little-Spider-Woman falls to ground 
dead. Child-of-a-Dog and wife go to his home. Wife tells her of troubles with 
Little-Spider-Woman and that her parents are Raccoons and that parents of other 
girl are Owls. The woman who helps them to escape is Squirrel-Woman. 
Woman comes and goes off with child into ground. Child-of-a-Dog searches 
for him without success. He and wife go to west and wife finds trail. He 
draws feathered part of arrow along ground and they see woman and child 
down in ground. Child-of-a-Dog goes down and drags woman out and says 
she is always to live in ground as Mole. Child at once begins to cry and can not 
be stopped crying until father says he will tell child all about his life and hard 
times he has had. Father tells tale of his and mother’s life. They then say they 
will be something else and escape further trouble. Child-of-a-Dog becomes Wind 
and his boy small Wind. Wife becomes Raccoon. Other woman pours water 
on fire, goes up with smoke and becomes Black-Eagle. 


20. THE OLD-AGE-DOG, WHO RESCUED THE CHIEF’S SON. 


Young-Man-Chief is admired by everybody, but refuses to marry. People are 
afraid of Tricksters, so women who haul wood are accompanied by armed men. 
Young-Man-Chief remains when women return home. Sees woman behind who 
calls him to her and gets hold of him. They are there for long time and are 
attacked by Tricksters. Man escapes and leaves woman to be taken away. 
Young-Man-Chief is sorry for woman and determines to go and seek her, 
He finds home of Tricksters and at night walks into village and looks into every 
lodge. Sees woman in tipi, makes hole and punches woman’s back with piece 
of grass. Woman walks out and Young-Man-Chief asks her to return home. 
She insists on going into tipi again. She tells husband about him, seeking 
revenge for leaving her to be captured. Young-Man-Chief is captured, tied to 
pole by fire, and burned to death during victory dance. People move next day, 
leaving old dog behind. Dog finds body of Young-Man-Chief and thinks he will 
save him. Dog howls and tells ‘him to get up. At fourth howl Young-Man-Chief 
rises from dead. Dog makes him dive four times in deepest part of stream. He 
comes out healed and with this arrows. They return to man’s home, and people 


ABSTRACTS. 331 


hug Young-Man-Chief and the dog. He relates what has taken place and wants 
to send war-party against Tricksters. War-party go, and on way come to hole 
into which dog dives and comes out young. Dog goes on top of hill and howls. 
Other dogs come and he tells them to take away Tricksters’ weapons, chew off 
bow-strings and carry away war-clubs, as war-party wants to attack Tricksters. 
Dogs do so, and when Young-Man-Chief learns he returns to camp. Next morn- 
ing attack is made. Young-Man-Chief kills woman who ‘had put him to death 
and captures fine-looking young woman to give to her father. Party returns 
victorious and father is satisfied. Young-Man-Chief marries, and, he, wife, and 
Old-Age-Dog sleep together. Dog tells him that he is jealous. Young-Man-Chief 
goes with war-party and leaves dog in care of wife. He returns safely through 
powers of dog. He goes again, and man comes to wife’s bed. She kicks dog off 
from bed. Dog will not eat and gradually goes from tipi to hill, where war-party 
appears when returning. Young-Man-Chief finds dog there and learns from him 
what has taken place. They remain together and gradually turn to stone. 


21. THE OLD-AGE-DOG, WHO RESCUED THE CHIEF’S SON. 


Woman catches hold of Chief’s-Son, as in No. 20, and is captured by Trick- 
sters. Chief’s-Son goes in search of her and is captured and burned to death, 
but brought to life again by Old-Age-Dog, who becomes White-Dog. Chief’s- 
Son and White-Dog are now brothers. They take war-party against Tricksters. 
White-Dog incites dogs to destroy bow-stnings. White-Dog kills woman, and 
Chief’s-Son kills husband and captures young woman as adopted daughter for 
woman’s ‘father. Chief’s-Son marries and forbids wife to strike dog. He goes 
on war-path and leaves woman in care of dog, which stays at foot of bed. Man 
comes ito wife’s bed and she kicks dog off bed. Dog goes and lies by door and 
refuses to eat. Dog moves away from village and gradually reaches hill. People 
are uneasy about Chief’s-Son. He returns and finds dog. On hearing what has 
occurred he says he will do as dog wants. They remain there and turn 
to sandstone. People all remain human beings. 


22. YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF, WHO BECAME AN OTTER. 


. 
~ 


Chief of one village has boy, and chief of ‘another village has girl. Older men 
sing to boy, and women can not get near him. His name is Young-Boy-Chief. 
Girl is watched so that no man can come around. Father has company every 
day and girl cooks for them. Her bed is set on high poles, and to reach it she 
has to take ladder. Chief’s-Son has same kind of bed, so that young women 
can not get to him. Chief’s-Son goes at night to place where girl is. He calls 
her and finally goes to bed with her. He repeats visit and tells her what things 
he will furnish her with should she become pregnant. Girl becomes pregnant 
and Chief’s-Son does not return to her. She refuses to say whom child belongs 
to. Child is born and girl waits for Chief’s-Son to bring things he promised. 
Men continue to sing for young man. Girl’s parents say she must leave place 
or say whose is the child. She gets tired of waiting for promised things and takes 
child to place where men are singing for Chief’s-Son. She places child on his 
arms and goes away. Singing stops, and Chief’s-Son follows woman. She refuses 


332 ABSTRACTS. 


to stay and goes to lake, takes off her clothing, and flies away over lake as Eagle. 
Her garments turn into grapevines. Man and child cry and go to sleep. Woman 
comes back with another man she has married. Both are Eagles.. They take 
child away while Chief’s-Son is asleep. On waking he looks for child and sees 
it with othens, flying over him. Woman Eagle sings song about things promised 
for child and then song of feathers. Each Eagle sends down three feathers to 
young man and then they fly toward east. ‘Chief’s-Son takes ‘feathers and goes 
home. He finds everybody gone, and he goes to river and turns into Otter. The 
feathers he throws into brush of which arrows are made, for benefit of next 
generation. 


23. YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF, WHO BECAME AN OTTER. 


Village is divided into two parts, each of which has chief. Chief of north 
division thas son named Chief’s-Son, for whom prominent men sing and who 
has no thought of marrying. Chief of south village has daughter, who has not 
thought of men. She does most of cooking for father’s visitors. Chief’s-Son 
and chief's daughter go to see each other at same time. They meet and decide 
to go away together. They return home for necessary things and then start 
south. At end of fourth day they find suitable place. Chief’s-Son tells wife 
what things he will get for child. Boy is born. Some time afterward young man 
thinks of home. He leaves wife and child. At home he resumes former life, 
as if unmarried, and men sing for him. When chief's daughter tired of living 
alone ‘she starts for village and goes to home of Chief’s-Son, who is seated on 
lap of man singing for him. She puts child on lap of Chief’s-Son and walks 
away toward north. Chief’s-Son follows with child. Woman will not stop, but 
sings about things promised for child’s use in cradle. She comes to lake, takes 
off robe, flies over lake and becomes Eagle. Her robe turns to grapevine. She 
marries Eagle and they fly around until Chief’s-Son goes to sleep. Eagle-woman 
takes child away. Chief’s-Son awakes and there are three Eagles. Chief’s-Son 
asks to be taken up, but Eagle-woman sings and shakes feather down to him. 
Twice again she sings, and Eagle-man and young one shake down feathers. 
Eagles fly away, and Chief’s-Son returns home, but finds tall weeds instead of 
village. He goes to river and throws feathers into bushes for feathering arrows. 
He then becomes Otter. 


24. THE MAN WHO BECAME A FLAMINGO. 


Chief has five daughters, who refuse to marry. Man-having-greater-Powers- 
than-any-other-Man thinks he will play trick on daughters of chief, who at certain 
time go to bring water from river for bath. He puts pipe bone on path for them 
to pick up. Eldest of sisters finds relic and picks it up and puts in front of her 
under blanket. She tries to find it on reaching home, but fails. After a time 
she becomes pregnant and tells father she does not know to whom child belongs. 
Child cries all day, and chief directs men to present arrows and bows to child. 
He whose bow and arrows are accepted by child is to be husband of child’s 
mother. Men pass around chief’s lodge to offer bows and arrows, but child keeps 
on crying. Coyote’s turn comes and child stops crying, and Coyote thinks he will 
be chief’s son-in-law, but child begins again. Child is handed to Man-having- 


ABSTRACTS. 333 


greater-Powers-than-any-other-Man, who speaks to it. Child stops crying and 
plays with bow and arrow, and father becomes chief's son-in-law. He removes 
his things to home of child and next day starts to hunt for whole family. Chief 
tells people that men are to go hunting and that any one killing red turkey and 
bringing it to him shall have his next daughter. Man-having-greater-Powers- 
than-any-other-Man kills red turkey. Coyote kills white turkey and paints it red, 
thinking he will become chief’s son-in-law. Daughter is given to other man, 
who also wins third ‘daughter for having prettiest war-bonnet, although Coyote 
tries to coax daughter to choose his bonnet. Long afterward chief offers his two 
remaining daughters to funniest dancer. Coyote tries to make them laugh at him, 
but they laugh at Opossum, who becomes chief’s son-in-law. Opossum is worried 
at having two wives and splits his membrum. Chief's first grandson, Child- 
sprung-from-Relic, disappears. Chief announces that any one finding child shall 
be chief of whole village. Man-having-greater-Powers-than-any-other-Man finds 
his child has been taken into water, and will not leave river banks, and becomes 
Flamingo. Chief says he wants to become something else, and some become birds, 
others wild animals, and some remain human beings. 


25. THE SPIDERS WHO RECOVERED THE CHIEF’S GRANDSON. 


Two villages divided by street have two chiefs. One chief has son and the 
other has daughter, who will not marry in their own families. In chiefs’ families 
young people have high sleeping places, entered by means of ladder, which parents 
remove to keep any one from getting to the bed. The chief's son and the chief's 
daughter on the same night think of going to see each other. They meet, and 
after explanation they go to young man’s home. Next morning young man’s 
mother finds girl in bed with him and tells them to come to breakfast. Chief's 
daughter is sought for and Coyote finds her. Chief is satisfied when he knows 
that she has married other chief's son. Boy is born to them. Child is taken 
around to other lodges and brought home to mother to nurse. Old woman comes 
for child, which mother hands to her out of cradle. It is not returned and can 
not be found. Spider-Woman comes and finds that old woman has gone under- 
ground with child, but loses her trail. People accompany chief on hunting trip. 
Coyote remains at home and takes family into timber. While trying to shoot 
fish, some one behind speaks to him. It is Spider-Man. Coyote asks if he may 
dress like him, and he dumps Coyote into water. When he comes out he is like 
Spider-Man. Spider-Man gives him food, which increases as it is turned round 
on stick. Asks Coyote if he is brave, as he wants him to go after chief's grand- 
child, which has been scorched nearly to death. Coyote takes meat to his wife 
and tells her how to increase it. Spider-Man sends him back to tell wife they 
are now to be brother and sister. Spider-Man tells Coyote he will meet four 
dangerous men and gives him instructions how to proceed on trip to place where 
child is. Coyote comes to four Headless-Men, in succession, and manages to get 
around them facing the north, and sticks their feet in ground. He comes to vil- 
lage where child is and shoots four arrows in different directions, causing fires. 
Makes dash for child, and people scatter, thinking Spider-Man has come. He 
takes child from pole, runs quickly and escapes thunder and lightning. On his 
way home he kills Headless-Men. Spider-Man throws child into water and on 
taking it out sends Coyote for his child of same age. Spider-Man throws Coyote’s 


334 ABSTRACTS. 


child into water and the two children are alike. Coyote receives powers like 
Spider-Man’s and is to have nothing to do with women. Coyote goes to chief's 
place and asks him to call people together. He tells story of loss of child and 
of his recovery. Chief sends men for child, but they can not find place. Coyote 
goes with them and they bring two children who are alike, and Coyote’s child 
is adopted by chief’s son and daughter. Coyote has new home given him with 
power to become great chief. Women try to marry him, but he refuses. Long 
time after Woman-who-wears-Shell-Rattles comes and Coyote allows her to lie 
down. Spider-Man knows and takes away Coyote’s powers. In morning he is 
true coyote and goes out into wilderness. Chief calls people together and says 
that as other wrong may befall him, they may become animals if they wish. 
Some in families become birds of air, some wild animals. ‘Chief and family 
remain human beings. 


. 26. THE ORIGIN OF THE EAGLES. 


Young-Boy-Chief is leader in all expeditions. He helps everybody when 
help is needed. War-party goes against Tricksters, who are Prairfe-chickens. 
On return Young-Boy-Chief waits at river longer than others. Old woman 
comes and he offers to take her across. He packs her across on his back, and on 
other side she refuses to come off. He carries her to village, and she then 
says that as he has refused to marry any one, she is going to be his wife and 
remain on his back. He lies down and old woman is such a nuisance people think 
he is going to die. Coyote gets four men to try to pull old woman off, but they 
fail. Boy out shooting at birds hears old man, Ears-painted-Red (Turtle), say 
he can get old woman off. Boy tells chief, who sends Coyote for the Turtle, 
who says he can take woman off. Sends four men for buffalo fat and then 
makes bow and arrows and gets some paint. Next morning the Turtle sings 
song about Young-Boy-Chief, who is seated on buffalo robe. He shoots arrow 
and woman’s right hand comes off. With other arrows he shoots off her left 
foot, her left hand, and her right foot in succession. Then Coyote clubs old 
woman to death. She is green tree. The Turtle rubs buffalo fat over sore 
places on Young-Boy-Chief, and then puts red paint on them and he is healed. 
Chief fears something else may occur and tells people they can leave their homes 
next day if they please. They go by families and some become birds and 
others beasts of woods and plains. Chief's family go up with smoke and be- 
come Eagles. Some people remain in village. 


2¢. THE COYOTE AND THE BUFFALO. 


Chief called Wolf controls village of hunters. Their swiftest runner is 
Black-Wolf. Buffalo disappear and Coyote goes to find their trail. In four days 
he comes to lodge in which live man and family who have plenty of meat. To 
find out where meat is kept he changes to little dog and crawls into lodge after 
dark. Children play with him and take him to bed. Old man in morning goes 
hunting. Coyote follows and sees man go to large stone lying on side of hill. 
Man commands stone to go aside and calls to fattest buffalo to come out. When 
buffalo comes man shoots it and takes all lean meat and tells buffalo to go back 
in hole. Stone then moves to its place again. When man, who is Raven, goes 


ABSTRACTS. 335 


home with meat Coyote goes to stone and commands it to move to one side. 
It does so and a great herd of buffalo comes out. He drives buffalo to place 
where he came from and tells chief. People kill buffalo and people have plenty 
to eat. Chief Wolf announces that as they may have hard times again they 
should become what they were. They remain in their lodge as Wolves, Coyote, 
and Black-Wolf. 


28. HALF-A-BOY, WHO OVERCAME THE GAMBLER. 


Half-a-Boy lives in village where all kinds of games are played. He goes 
to another village where is man who plays wheel game very well. Is directed 
to tipi of chief. Chief warns boy that he will have to play with cruel man who 
lives there, and after losing all he thas will have to bet his life. He plays next 
day and loses all his things. Man tells him he has to bet his life. His body is 
equal to three bets, right side, left side, and backbone. He loses two of these 
bets by time sun goes down and finally persuades man to spare his life until 
next day. Man calls him Half-a-Boy because he Jost part of his body by 
gambling. He remains at grounds and when everybody is asleep two women 
come and call him. He goes with them and they become Buffalo-cows. They 
come to where grandfather and grandmother are taking smoke. Women tell old 
people to give him powers. Obtains black and red sticks from old Buffalo bull 
and song from old woman Buffalo. He receives instructions as to play. Boy 
returns to village and in morning his opponent comes to win rest of his body. 
He asks to see his opponent’s stick and passes it through his left hand four times. 
Boy hits man’s stick and breaks it in two. Chief goes to tipi for boy’s sticks and 
hands red stick to opponent. Black stick always finds wheel. Boy wins back 
third of his body and then doubles his bet. He wins everything in opponent’s 
village, then kills all his people. He bets his life against life of man, who is 
Shadow-of-the-Sun. Boy wims first, second, and third part of body of Shadow- 
Man. As stick enters wheel two big buffalo arise and chase man, who is torn 
to pieces and body burned up. As fire dies down boy pokes it and men killed 
by Shadow-Man jump out. MHalf-a-Boy refuses to be chief and turns into 
Blackbird and goes to buffalo in north. 


29. YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF, WHO MARRIED A BUFFALO. 


Village is divided into two parts, each governed by chief. In space between 
parts games are played. Young-Boy-Chief is son of chief of south village. 
Other chief has daughter. Boy spends his time in watching other boys play. 
Girl always stays at home. Young-Buffalo-Woman comes, and on way finds 
piece of dry grass like white, soft feather. She is dressed differently from 
other women and is tattooed on face. Young woman goes to ground and sees 
Young-Boy-Chief, who is on lookout for chief’s daughter. She drops dry grass 
and wind rolls it toward young man. She plays in double-ball game and always 
is ahead. Dry grass rolls between legs of Young+Boy-Chief, and when he 
throws it away it returns. It bothers him, and he takes it with him to lodge. 
Woman leaves game and goes to tipi, after bathing in creek. People have no 
food, and woman brings kidney and corn bread from her ieft side and gives 
them to eat. She puts back fat and then takes same things from her right side 


336 ABSTRACTS. 


and eats them. Young-Boy-Chief searches for woman and finds her in last 
lodge. He tells woman the has mistaken her for daughter of chief, but they begin 
to live as husband and wife. He says his marriage is to be kept secret. They 
live together long time, but when she is pregnant Young-Boy-Chief ceases to go 
toseeher. Childis born and woman waits for him to come and see it. Boy grows 
and asks who father is. Woman will not say, but finally takes him to Young- 
Boy-Chief’s home, where many older men sitting around him. Child calls him 
father and he asks men to remove woman and child. Woman takes child on 
back and starts toward north. When away from village they become Buffalo. 
Young-Boy-Chief follows and overtakes them. Woman gives him kidney and 
bread to eat and tells him of troubles he will have at her home. He will have 
to meet her four husbands, who are brothers, and that her younger sister will 
offer herself as wife. He will have to pick out from other buffalo his wife, ‘his 
wife’s uncles, father, and mother, and his child. She tells him how to dis- 
tinguish each of them. On fourth day they come to wife’s home in buffalo 
village on high ‘hill. Young-Boy-Chief is asked to have sister for wife, but pays 
no attention. Next day he performs all tasks required of him and is permitted 
to retain his wife. Young-Boy-Chief likes new home better than old one. Long 
afterward Buffalo chief goes to other people to trade. People are to wear their 
best dresses when killing Buffalo. If meat only taken and hide left Buffalo 
live again, and best dresses belong to Buffalo. Young-Boy-Chief has to do as 
other Buffalo. Hie has many children by Buffalo wife. Whenever Buffalo come 
to people they show their desire to trade. 


30. THE SWIFT-HAWKS AND SHADOW-OF-THE-SUN. 


Village is divided into two parts, each ruled over by chief, one good, other 
bad. In another place is boy who lives with father, mother, and three younger 
brothers. Boy decides to visit village, which he comes to on fourth day after 
leaving home. He is directed to tipi of chief, where he is told that he will 
be called to enter foot race. Next morning he is called to race by other chief, 
Shadow-of-the-Sun. Boy and other chief take bath and then go to scene of 
race. Shadow-of-the-Sun runs first with the chief, then with Coyote, who are 
beaten. Then boy, Swift-Hawk, runs until he comes to deep canyon which he 
can not pass, and Shadow-of-the-Sun kills him with club. Another of four Swift- 
Hawks goes to same village, has similar experience to his brothers’, and meets 
same fate. This happens to four brothers in succession, all of whom are killed 
by Shadow-of-the-Sun. Other chief offers his life to him, but he refuses it, and 
after race carries off lot of chief’s people. Father knows what has happened to 
boys and goes to village of two chiefs. Before starting he puts water and white 
clay into shell and tells wife that if blood appears in shell it indicates that he 
is dead and she is to leave place. He reaches villages in four days, goes to chief’s 
tipi, and is told he will have to run foot race. Next morning he is called by 
Shadow-of-the-Sun. He, with chief and Coyote, go for bath, and old man comes 
out of water just like his four sons. He comes with Shadow-of-the-Sun, gets on 
right side of him, then on left side, and finally gets on his right shoulder and 
then on his left shoulder. When they come to canyon, old man, being on shoulder 
of Shadow-of-the-Sun, kicks him on breast and then in back and then goes 
on and leaves him behind. When he wins race he takes bow-string and pulls 


ABSTRACTS. 337 


it through his left hand four times and kills cruel chief with it. Body is burned 
and old man calls his boys to come out. Men jump out of fire and old man and 
his boys go back home. Old man insists family shall leave place because what 
has happened may happen again. They go and become Swift-Hawks. 


31. THE SWIFT-HAWKS AND SHADOW-OF-THE-SUN. 


Family of Hawks, consisting of father and three boys, live by themselves away 
from village. Oldest boy goes to visit village and sees people playing games. 
He puts up at lodge of chief, who tells him that there are evil-spirited people 
whose chief, Shadow-of-the-Sun, will challenge him to foot-race. Early next 
morning young man is challenged to foot-race by Shadow-of-the-Sun. Boy takes 
bath and then goes with good chief to ground. Race is run and boy is beaten 
and killed with club by Shadow-of-the-Sun. Good chief offers his life, but it is 
refused, as it is through his visitors other chief gets his fun. Father knows 
what has become of boy, but he lets second boy go to look for his brother. He 
goes to village, is received by good chief, and recognizes brother’s things. He 
is invited to run race with Shadow-of-the-Sun, is defeated and killed. Two 
other brothers go to village ‘successively and meet same fate. Father goes in 
search of boys, first coloring water in bowl with white clay in which wife will see 
blood color if he is slain. Reaches village evening of fourth day and is directed to 
chief's tipi. He sees his boys’ weapons and things hung up near bed. In morn- 
ing he is called to race, but first jumps into flowing water, from which he comes 
changed to young man. Chief goes with him to race, but he refuses to run from 
the starting place. Old man and Shadow-of-the-Sun run, and at fifth time old 
man turns into hawk and lights on chief's shoulder. He kicks chief on breast 
and enters village first. Shadow-of-the-Sun begs for his life, and being refused 
goes up into sky. Old man shoots arrow in direction he has gone and chief 
falls to ground, dead. His body and all human bones found are burned, and as 
those killed by Shadow-of-the-Sun are called they jump out of fire. Good chief 
tells people they have had such hard times they had better not exist longer as 
.human beings. Some people fly away, some into timber, some into prairies. 
Chief becomes Eagle. Father takes boys home and they turn into Hawks. 


32. YOUNG-BOY-CHIEF AND HIS SISTER, WHO BECAME EAGLES. 


Young-Boy-Chief and his sister live by themselves. They have Little-Dog. 
Sister sees deer and she calls Young-Boy-Chief four times to come and shoot 
it. He shoots at deer but all his arrows break to pieces. Deer carries Young- 
Boy-Chief off on his antlers. It is Big-Hail-Deer. Sister searches for Young- 
Boy-Chief and finds broken arrows. Long while after she resolves to go and 
look for brother. She takes the meal and leaves the meat and gourd @f water 
for Little-Dog. While on journey she sings and weeps alternately. Person an 
hill tries to keep her from passing. She pours out corn meal, and he then tells 
her about her brother. He is Mountain-Lion, and he tells her to go on. She 
continues journey and travels with double-ball and stick until she comes to 
another man on hill. He does as first man until she pours out some meal, and 
then tells her to go on to next man, who has great powers. He is Headless- 


338 ABSTRACTS. 


Man. Third man is Bear-having-great-Powers, and when woman pours out 
meal he tells her her brother must be nearly dead now, as deer has hardly time to 
stop. He tells her to go on to next man, who will aid her. She is to pack on 
her back little child she sees playing, and take him in to old man’s place 
and give corn meal to child. She travels on and sees dug-out on small hill and 
little boy playing. She carries child into lodge and gives it corn meal. Old man 
is Old-scabby-Bull, and he finally agrees to help her, but she must not weep 
when she sees brother. She hears him singing, but he is nearly dead. Old man 
makes small bow and arrow. Next day they go to meet deer. Woman hides 
herself and old man turns into Snowbird. Deer comes, and as he approaches old 
man passes bow-string through his left hand four times and clubs deer with it. 
He helps Young-Boy-Chief off his-antlers and then piles wood over deer and 
sets it on fire. Old man makes Young-Boy-Chief dive in creek, and he comes out 
with four arrows and bow after being called four times. They go on to man’s 
home, where Young-Boy-Chief hunts until people have much meat. Young- 
Boy-Chief and sister travel home fast by means of double-ball and arrows. They 
come to turkeys dancing and laughing because their enemy, Young-Boy-Chief, 
is dead, and he throws ashes on their heads. They see woman in tree crying 
because when Young-Boy-Chief was living she had plenty to eat. She is Red- 
Bird, and Young-Boy-Chief commands tree to bear wild grapes. Bunch of Deer 
tell him they are happy because of Young-Boy-Chief’s death, and he pulls their 
ears out long, then scares them, making their eyes wide open. He commands 
tree to bear fruit for man who is weeping on account of Young-Boy-Chief’s 
death. Man is Opossum, .and tree bears persimmons. When they reach home 
they find only hair and bones of Little-Dog, which sister throws into creek. She 
then calls it and dog comes out happy as can be. Young-Boy-Chief fears some- 
thing else may happen to him, so they pour water on fire and go up with smoke 
and become Eagles. Little-Dog remains as he is. 


33. THE STORY OF NOT-KNOW-WHO-YOU-ARE. 


In large village after celebration of return of war-party Not-know-who-you- 
are hears crying. This occurs on next celebration, and he learns that some one 
is carried off by some animal. He thinks he will have war-dance, and perhaps he 
can kill animal after dance. He gets up war-party and on return he joins in 
dance and keeps watch. He sees nothing, but suddenly people cry out that some- 
body is carried off. He takes his parents and sister to another village. He gets 
up war-party, and many scalps are brought back. While people dance scream- 
ing is heard by some one carried off. Before going to look for being man cuts 
two long poles, which he marks toward top and sticks up. He intends to cut 
off front feet of strange being and tie them on ends of poles. He says that 
woman who can guess what poles are for and why he has come to the village 
shall b@Bome his wife. There is family of father, mother, and four girls, called 
Horned-Owls. Three oldest daughters go to guess, ugly youngest staying at 
home. Father tells youngest what man has in mind. She goes to guessing place 
and is successful. Girl is taken into man’s lodge. At dark they go to creek, 
girl jumps in and comes out better looking. Man finds beast and asks it to guess 
what poles are for. Animal tells man what he has done, and says poles have 
nothing to do with intention. Man then tells meaning of poles and kills animal, 


ABSTRACTS. 339 


which is Mountain-Lion, with bow-string. He cuts off hoofs of animal and puts 
them on poles. Man returns home and sticks poles by his lodge. People in village 
remain there without further molestation. 


34. EARLY-MORNING-DEER-SLAYER, WHO OVERCAME ELK. 


Five villages are in line from west to east. In last village toward east lives 
chief, Early-Morning-Deer-Slayer, with his mother and sister. Chief is Moun- 
tain-Lion and great hunter of deer. He finds out that something is going to 
take his life, and he is so troubled he stays in bed all the time. Powerful animal 
appears in village toward west. People shoot at it, but arrows drop off. Animal 
goes through four villages unharmed and enters last village. Chief gets up 
and takes his bow and four arrows, two painted red and two painted black. He 
goes to meet enemy and shoots him with arrows, but animal is uninjured. It is 
Elk. Elk takes chief on his horns and turns back to where he came from. Man 
from each village follows to see where chief is taken to. Elk travels so fast that 
he leaves men far behind, and man bends bow around his head and causes animal 
to go slower, so that men catch up again. They see high place where Elk 
lives in great cave with his children. When Elk reaches this place it stops to 
dump chief off, and he kicks it in back of head and down both go. Elk is first 
and is eaten by his children. Chief gets hold of root of tree half way- down. 
Men come and look down and chief tells them to dig hole big enough for them 
to lie in. Then, swinging bow-string, he causes north wind to blow until it blows 
him out of place and there stops. Chief says he will return to place he came 
from. He asks men from village if they will go back. They say it is too far, 
so chief throws them away, and man from first village becomes Sparrow, man 
from second village becomes Yellowhammer, third man becomes Towhee, and 
fourth man Red-Bird. Chief sees people dancing because their enemy is killed, 
and he throws ashes on their heads. His arrows come back to him and he 
kills deer. Two Oposstim come and eat with him. He sees sister and shoots 
arrow over her that she may see it. Sister is packing Coyote’s children and 
chief destroys them. He makes Coyote pack sister and string splits him in two. 
He shoots arrows to four directions to be used by other generations. Arrows 
cause fire which burns his village. Chief and sister are Mountain-Lions. 


35. TROUBLE AMONG THE CHIEF’S CHILDREN. 


Chief of village has son and daughter, both of whom refuse to marry. Man- 
fond-of-Deer-Meat comes to daughter and is found in bed with her. He is only 
hunter, and father tells daughter she must either go elsewhere to live with him 
or send him away. Man and woman go away together, and after seven days’ 
travel they find a place to live in. They make home and live there for a long 
while, having plenty of meat and corn. Man shoots at deer sitting down and 
misses it. Deer runs and man looks for arrow, but can not find it. Next day he 
goes in search of arrow instead of hunting. He does this every day, without 
success, and they eat up everything they have. Then man cuts the flesh from 
body until he is nearly nothing but bones. Person comes and tells wife that man 
will never find arrow. Big-Hail-Deer has taken notion to ruin him, and that 


340 ABSTRACTS. 


she should make her escape, as it is her day to die. He gives her stick and 
double-ball, armful of deer hair, bark from dogwood tree, and pieces of red stone 
for painting, and explains their use. Woman goes out. She tosses ball up in 
air and is on it. Late in evening she hears man talking about eating her. He 
finds her trail and nearly overtakes her. She throws deer’s hair on ground, and 
when man gets to place he chases deer. He starts after her again and she 
throws down dogwood bark. There are big bushes, and man commences to cut 
them down, removes bark, and straightens them. He continues chase, and 
woman empties bundle of red stones. When man comes to place he gathers 
stones, but is reminded of his chase and starts after wife again. She hears him 
coming and strikes ground with stick, making deep canyon. Woman is now 
near her home. From top of hill she sees man coming after her. It is late in 
evening. She goes right on into grass-lodge of father and goes straight to him. 
They hear man outside asking that she may be turned out. Woman’s father 
begins to tell story. It is about herself. When story completed it is daylight, 
and man falls dead just outside of lodge. 


36. THE TURTLE’S WAR-PARTY. 


Daughter of chief offers herself to any man who can bring her a scalp 
that has red hair. Many men try, but all fail to get scalp. Turtle gets meal from 
mother and goes on war-path to get red-haired scalp. He meets Rat and takes 
him along. They meet Horned-Beetle and afterward Locust, who asks to join 
them. All say it is easy to get such a scalp. They go toward the south, meet 
Coyote, who laughs at them. When he hears they are going on war-path he 
asks to join them, but they refuse him because he is coward. He offers to do 
spying and is allowed to join. He brings news of enemy’s village, and Turtle tells 
men they will attack it. Coyote is scared, but at night when most people asleep, 
they enter village. They go from tipi to tipi looking for man with red hair. They 
see one in large tipi where great men are sitting up to pass time. When everybody 
has gone to sleep men go in and Turtle cuts man’s throat and takes his scalp. 
They go out and Coyote, who has been scared nearly to death, joins them again. 
They start home, but before they are out of village Turtle begins to sing victory 
songs and wakes everybody up. They find chief killed, pursue war-party. Four 
hide themselves in grass and enemies pursue Coyote and kill him. When enemy 
gone home war-party come together again. They go on and find Coyote dead, 
full of arrow wounds. Turtle puts him on his feet and tells him to rise, he has 
slept too soundly. Coyote rises and Turtle says he knew he was coward. On 
reaching home chief’s daughter given scalp and Turtle is given woman. Not long 
afterward chief calls all people to hear Turtle, who says that for their sakes he 
has saved men from having to send war-parties to get scalp and he wants never 
to live as human being again. He goes to prairie and turns into Prairie-Turtle, 
and many people go off and turn into something else. 


37. THE TURTLE’S WAR-PARTY. 
Chief of village where Turtle lives offers his daughter to one who gets red- 


haired scalp. Red-haired people are Wasps. They have White-Geese for spies, | 
and every one, therefore, fails to get such scalp. Turtle tells mother he is going 


ABSTRACTS. 341 


after red-haired scalp. She tries to dissuade him, but finally makes him pair of 
moccasins and prepares meal for him. Turtle starts west and sees smoke com- 
ing from high point. He finds Mole, who says he has induced him to come and 
will aid him to get scalp. Turtle stays there and Mole goes under ground and 
locates red-haired men, without being seen by Geese. He notifies Turtle, and 
then both go under ground to red-haired people’s homes. When they are all 
asleep mole locates chief, and Turtle goes and cuts off his head. Turtle goes 
back home and gives scalp to chief, who tells him he can live there and have his 
daughter for a wife. 


38. LITTLE-CROW, WHO BECAME A SPARROW-HAWK. 


Four brothers, noted warriors, live with mother in village. Oldest brother 
says that if they have to meet the enemy and any one fails he shall wear woman’s 
clothes and help mother to do cooking. Little-Crow goes next morning to have 
bath, and while in water sees woman standing where his things are. He re- 
mains in water for her to go away, but she stays long time, and then asks why 
he does not go to battle then going on. He remembers agreement and comes out 
of water and takes his things. He runs as fast as he can and meets man who 
says all enemy have been killed. He goes on and meets brother, who says only 
one enemy left and brothers are after him. Ljittle-Crow goes and meets his 
brothers, who tell him to go back, as only enemy left is hard one to fight. He goes 
on and enemy turns to meet him. They shoot at each other, use war-clubs, 
and then wrestle, one on top trying to get arrow to stick other with. This 
Little-Crow succeeds in doing and kills enemy. To convince his brothers that 
he has really killed man he carries home body on his back. While standing 
outside he hears his brothers talking about him, and saying that he must have 
died. Little-Crow then sings song about his life and of his going for bath and 
woman finding him, and of his fight with enemy and carrying his body home at 
daylight. He calls on his brothers to come out and see whether he has not 
killed person they had failed to kill. They come and say it is so. People give 
great victory dance, which is the beginning of victory dances. Long time after 
they begin to teach people their powers. Then they throw water on fire and all 
four brothers go up with smoke and become Sparrow-Hawks. 


39. THE LITTLE-BROWN-HAWKS. 


~ 


Family of father, mother, and four boys, who are alike, live by themselves. 
They are called Swift-Hawks. Father tells boys not to go to village north of 
their home. Oldest boy goes to village, taking him four days. He goes to 
visitor’s place, and Coyote, servant of dangerous man, comes. and sees him. Next 
morning he is called to shinny-ball game, the loser to forfeit his life. He loses 
game and is clubbed to death with shinny club. Second brother goes to look for 
him, and on reaching village is thought to be same man. He plays and loses 
game and forfeits his life. The third and fourth brothers meet the same fate in 
turn. Father knows where sons have gone, and determines to try his turn. 
He goes to village and in tipi sees his children’s weapons. In morning he 
takes bath and looks much younger. He plays and loses game and is clubbed to 


342 ABSTRACTS. 


death. Old woman-takes bath and hears noise in water. She becomes pregnant 
and boy is born to her. Boy grows rapidly and when young man goes to recover 
rest of family. He arrives at village and after bath is called to shinny ground. 
He has club and ball. His ball is used and he tosses it up. Hail falls instead 
of ball and kills dangerous man. Young man stops hail. Body of dangerous man 
is burned up and men whom he has killed come to life, among them Swift- 
Hawks and their father. Soon after reaching home they pour water on fire and 
go up with smoke and turn into Little-Brown-Hawks. 


40. THE COYOTE WHO LOST HIS POWER. 


Two villages are situate same distance apart. Both send out war-parties, 
but while on return of party from east village people have good times, in west 
village there is crying. Coyote goes to this village to find out cause of crying. 
Goes with war-party :from west village. When they stop men gather wood and 
cut some dogwood. After sunset man asks from distance way to fire. He comes 
and Coyote is afraid of him, he is dressed so peculiarly. He is Shooting-Star, 
and as human being has great powers. He has plenty of dogwood. Men use 
dogwood sticks to count number of enemies they have killed. Stranger counts 
beyond any of others, and when man has told all his war tales stranger kills 
him. Men become very few about daylight and then Coyote goes. Coyote meets 
Little-Man, who agrees to give him power to kill stranger. He gives Coyote bow 
and arrows, tells him to have dress made after fashion of stranger’s, and says 
that when he has got ahead of stranger in story telling there will be foot-race, 
in which he is to run above ground, and when he has beaten stranger he is to 
kill him. When Coyote has accomplished all he is not to marry. Little-Man 
instructs Coyote how to bring dead men back by burning bodies. Coyote tells 
people what has happened and what he is going to do. They make him clothes 
and bonnet, and Little-Man gives clothing appearance of that of stranger. 
Coyote goes to place where everybody dies and mimics men in getting wood 
and dogwood sticks. At dark stranger comes to camp-fire. He is surprised to see 
that Coyote’s dress resembles his own. They begin to tell war tales and Coyote 
tells more than the stranger. Stranger tells true stories and Coyote stories only 
half true. Daylight comes and stranger has told all his war tales. Coyote pre- 
pares to kill him, but stranger says they have to run race, and he can run on top 
of ground or under ground. Coyote decides on top and they run for high point. 
Coyote receives power from Little-Man and reaches point first. When stranger 
arrives he offers Coyote his power, but Coyote kills him with bow and arrows. 
He drags body to camp-fire and gathers human bones lying around and burns 
them. He calls names of men who have been killed there and they come out 
of fire. Men go home. At suggestion of chief people build Coyote new dwelling- 
place and give him wives. Prominent men come to visit Coyote, and his wives 
cook for them. Wives become pregnant. Little-Man sends whirlwind to take 
away Coyote’s powers and leave him as at first, because he nas disobeyed his 
order. Next morning wives find coyote instead of human being. ‘They scream 
and awake coyote, who runs away from village. Wives’ children are coyotes, 
and the people take them home for pets. 


ABSTRACTS. 343 


41. THE BOY WHO LED WAR-PARTIES AND BECAME A HAWK. 


Chief has two boys. The older one is called Bad-Boy. Father is wishful 
to give him power, but he will not stay at home. Chief is tired of his doings 
and announces to people that if they see Bad-Boy among their lodges they shall 
kill him or whip him. Bad-Boy hears, and being afraid, goes home to bed. Next 
day he is quiet and:asks father to instruct him regarding war bundle. Father 
takes down War-secrets-Bundle and spreads things before Bad-Boy. He in- 
structs him particularly what to do if he wants to set out on war-path. One 
foggy day Bad-Boy thinks he will send out war-party. He fills pipe with 
tobacco and goes to select man to serve under him. Man accepts pipe and asks 
when they are to start. He says in a few days. Next day he leaves home and 
goes to village where young men playing shinny game. Lives in tipi of old man, 
old woman, and small child, and begins to do things he has done in father’s 
village. Goes with people on hunt, but returns to get things he has left in 
cave. He dresses himself and follows people on hunt. He meets young women 
who laugh at him. He drives them from hunting party and asks them to go 
on wat-party. They are willing and make camp. Bad-Boy follows instructions 
given by father. Next day they start and travel fourteen days. Every time they 
camp two women, Second-leading-Warriors, have to go through tobacco rite. 
Bad-Boy goes spying, and on return women form circle, which he enters, gives 
whoop, and says he has seen it. They sit down and Bad-Boy tells his story, and 
after telling his intention they rise and go in direction of enemy. ‘They see 
Trickster, who shoots at them until Bad-Boy clubs him and takes his scalp. They 
start off home and people dance all night in honor of Bad-Boy. He sends out 
more war-parties, of men instead of women. He remains single, and when old 
he tells people he is going to leave them and become something else. He flies 
away as Hawk. 


42. THE COYOTE AND THE WARRIOR. 


Coyote sees man on war-path and asks if he can go. Coyote says he is 
brave, and man lets him go, although he knows he is a coward. First night they 
stop at place called Where-Scalped-Man-sits-by-the-Fire. They kill buffalo and 
after eating most ‘of the meat they rest. Coyote cuts pieces from largest part of 
heart and fits it on his knee. He goes to sleep and when he awakes he thinks 
Scalped-Man is sitting before him. He strikes with club and hits his own knee, 
which pains him and swells up. Next night they are to camp at place called 
Where-cooked-Meat-flies-around. Coyote says knee is feeling better. They come 
to place. When they have caught all they want meat stops flying around. Next 
night they are to stay at Where-Arrows-fly-around and Coyote complains of 
sore leg hurting him. His knee becomes worse and they stop to rest. Arrows 
begin to fly around. Man catches some, but Coyote dodges and is hit in arm. 
Man kicks Coyote’s feet and tells him to get up. While eating, man tells Coyote 
next stopping place is Where-Women-visit-the-Men. Coyote wishes next day 
might come quickly. Next morning he does cooking and says knee does not hurt. 
When they camp next night two women come. Coyote cooks tripe and eats it 
with woman to find out whether she is young or old. In eating she makes noise 
and Coyote tells her to leave him, as she is too old. She arises and her apparel 


344 ABSTRACTS. 


rattles like that of young women and Coyote finds he has made mistake. Woman 
walks off and will not pay any attention to Coyote. Man keeps other woman to 
himself. Man says next stopping place is Where-War-clubs-Fly-around, and 
Coyote’s leg begins to pain him again. They camp next evening and they hear 
war-clubs flying around. Coyote begins to dodge them and one hits him on 
head. Man secures two good ones and flying ceases. He kicks Coyote’s feet 
and tells him to get up. While sitting, man tells Coyote they will-next stop at 
place called Where-Vaginas-fly-around. Coyote asks various questions and 
sleeps little. In morning he is in good condition to walk and leaves man behind. 
In evening they encamp, and while eating objects begin to fly around and Coyote 
catches one in his quiver. Man says they will come to real place next time 
called Where-Enemies-Attack-their-Foes. Coyote’s knee pains him next day. 
They travel till late and they start next morning. They are attacked by enemies. 
Coyote tries to run away but enemy kills him. After fight man goes to Coyote 
and finds him on ground scalped. He kicks Coyote’s feet and brings him to 
life. Coyote runs away from man and becomes wild. Man is Chicken-Hawk. 


43. THE END OF THE TRICKSTER-CHEATER. 


Village ruled by old man, who has wife, daughter, and four boys. Old man 
and wife become blind and boys become head of village. Four brothers announce 
hunting trip, and tell people to get ready in four days. Father thinks it useless 
for him, wife, and daughter to go, and chiefs have them removed to safe place 
near timber and water. When people have left village Trickster-Spies come and 
find no one in village. Among them is Trickster-Spy, who finds old folks and 
daughter living in timber. When warriors go away he goes with them, but when 
good way off he leaves them and returns. He kills buffalo, takes meat to where 
folks are living. When girl steps out he motions for her to come for meat. 
She goes and tells father and he finally tells her to see what man wants. She 
goes and man returns with her, carrying meat. Father tells mother and daughter 
to do what man asks. Man makes up mind to stay and marry girl. He has great 
powers and always brings home meat. If he sees enemies he turns to deer or 
coyote. He sees four brothers and people coming and tells his wife. Brothers 
return and accept him as brother-in-law. His wife has boy ‘called Son-of-the- 
Trickster-Spy. Trickster-Spy always takes son hunting. Once when boy heavy 
he paints his head with white clay and leaves him in tree. Tricksters come 
and take child away. Trickster-Spy follows and overtakes them. He joins 
party, carries child in his turn, lets crowd go on and turns back with child. 
When old enough, child has as great powers as his father. ‘Trickster-Spy lives 
with four chiefs long while, then beats wife and has to fly, leaving wife and boy. 
Trickster’s son is angry at father and looks out to kill him. War-party is sent 
against Tricksters, and Trickster’s son goes out to spy. He and father see each 
other and turn to deer, but are afraid to meet. War-party returns home. While 
on hunting trip, Trickster’s son accidentally sees some one who has killed game. 
He finds it is his father and turns into buck deer. He turns back, attacks 
father before he knows, and kills him. He takes father’s scalp and gives it to 
people, who dance for joy over death of their meanest enemy. 


ABSTRACTS. 345 


44. THE COYOTE, PRAIRIE TURTLE, AND SQUIRREL. 


Prairie-Turtle wishes to cross creek, but it is swollen. Buffalo offers to 
take him across on his hoofs, or back, or between his horns, but Turtle declines. 
Then Buffalo suggests anus and Turtle gets in. He eats part of intestines and 
Buffalo drops dead when across creek. Turtle calls for some one with knife to 
butcher Buffalo, and Coyote hears. Tiurtle denies he has called for butcher. 
Coyote sees Buffalo on ground and asks what it is. Turtle insists it is his robe, 
but admits it is Buffalo he has killed. Coyote offers to butcher for half beef. 
Turtle consents. When through, Coyote suggests that they run race for all 
meat. Turtle is beaten and Coyote leaves him to watch meat while Coyote 
goes for wife and children. Squirrel comes and suggests playing trick on 
Coyote. They carry all meat to tree and Squirrel takes meat and then Turtle 
up into tree, which spreads over creek. Coyote returns and finds meat gone. 
He sees Turtle and Squirrel reflected in water. They smile and Coyote jumps 
into water, but can not reach them. He comes out and still sees them smiling. 
Coyote ties stone on neck and dives. Excrement floats and Coyote’s children 
call for intestines, as he has told them to do. Turtle and Squirrel tell them they 
_have drowned their father. Squirrel pours boiling hot soup on them and they 
run in different directions. This is why Coyotes do not stay together. Squirrel 
brings Turtle down to ground and they part. 


45. THE COYOTE, RABBIT, AND SCALPED-MAN. 


Coyote and Rabbit plan to get Scalped-Man’s bonnet, not knowing what sort 
of head he has. They take calumet pipe to him and say they have come to give 
him dance. One sings while other dances and they take turns in singing. Scalped- 
Man comes with gifts of things to wear. He first tells war-story. When all 
his things are gone, Coyote and Rabbit call for bonnet. Scalped-Man refuses 
and they will not stop dancing and singing. Finally Scalped-Man comes running 
with his bonnet off and Coyote and Rabbit are so afraid they run away. Scalped- 
Man follows them and seizes Rabbit by feet. He overtakes Coyote and throws 
Rabbit in his face. When Rabbit and Coyote meet they talk about man’s head 
and things they have at Scalped-Man’s place, which they are afraid to go after. 
They laugh over their sport. 


46. THE COYOTE AND SKUNK INAUGURATE THE FEAST. 


Coyote, who is a notorious coward, while hunting finds Skunk, and says he 
must kill him. Skunk tells Coyote that Beavers are having medicine dance 
near by and together they can kill lot of them. He instructs Coyote what to 
do. Coyote goes and finds Beavers having medicine-men’s dance. He tells 
them his partner is sick and asks for man to doctor him. He is told to take 
his choice, and he selects fattest. Medicine-man asks what part of sick man’s 
body hurts him. Skunk turns over, and while medicine-man is examining 
anus Skunk defecates, blinding him. Coyote kills him with club and hauls 
him off to distance. After cleaning ground Coyote goes again to Beavers. He 
pretends that first medicine-man has failed to cure sick man, has gone to look 
for different medicine. He asks for another medicine-man, as his partner is 


346 ABSTRACTS. 


nearly dead, and selects fattest man. They go to where Skunk pretends to be 
dying and Coyote kills him as first one. By this trick four Beavers are killed 
and Coyote carries them home. He tells wife his friends are coming to feast 
and she is to cook for them. When cooking is done Coyote orders family to 
go to creek until feast is over. Family go and Coyote raps on door and pre- 
tends that some one is coming in and then talks as though seating his friends. 
Coyote then eats from place to place, eating most at first place, less af next, and 
soon. When he has eaten he talks again as though to his friends. After a while, 
calls for his family. He tells them some of his friends were not very hungry. 
Coyote’s family eats rest of meat. He then commands them to move away and be 
coyotes and that in after generations there shall be making of feasts for friends. 


47. THE COYOTE WHO BECAME A BUFFALO. 


Coyote sees big Buffalo grazing and ‘asks him for powers to live like Buffalo. 
Finally Buffalo says Coyote can become Buffalo if he is brave. He tells Coyote 
to stand and let Buffalo run against him and he will get up great Buffalo bull. 
Coyote goes and stands facing Buffalo, who runs toward him as hard as he can. 
Coyote steps out of way. This takes place three times, but fourth time Coyote 
shuts his eyes and Buffalo runs over him. When Coyote stands up he is great 
Buffalo bull. Buffalo tells him he can go where he wants to, but must not hurt 
any one. Coyote-Buffalo sees another Coyote and tells him he can be changed 
to Buffalo bull and live as he is doing. Coyote consents and Coyote-Buffalo 
starts to run over him. Coyote jumps out of way three times, but fourth time 
Coyote-Buffalo runs over him and they are both coyotes—Coyote-Buffalo for 
trying to make another Coyote into Buffalo. 


48. THE COYOTE AND THE ARTICHOKE. 


Coyote goes to hunt and meets people who are going to dig artichokes. He 
joins party, and seeing people eat as they go digging, he commences to eat. 
He is told to throw away piece so that it will grow again. People go, but Coyote 
thinks he will stay. He kept on eating artichokes and finally eats every bit with- 
out saving piece. He gets so full that he expels flatus, which bounces him up, 
and finally he bounces up into hollow stump. Coyote can not get out and remains 
there several days. People come back and they hear him calling. They cut down 
timber and release him. He goes away home, where he finds his family starved 
to death. He goes off howling. 


49. THE COYOTE AND THE WILD-CAT. 


Coyote is hungry and finds some dry bones. He takes rib and makes fire 
to cook it. While he sleeps Wild-cat comes along and eats meat. He fills 
Coyote’s teeth with meat, greases his hands and knife, and puts bones before 
him. Wild-cat then goes off and sleeps. Coyote wakes and thinks he must 
have eaten, but is still hungry. He sees tracks of Wild-cat and trails him. 
Finds Wild-cat and takes him to creek, where he leaves him on high bluff. 
Coyote goes away and finds another dry bone and goes to sleep again. Wild-cat 


ABSTRACTS. 347 


wakes up and rolls into creek. He finds Coyote’s tracks and follows them 
to where Coyote is asleep. He puts Coyote on his back and carries him to 
creek, where he fixes Coyote up to spoil his looks. Coyote wakes and finds he 
is different. He suspects Wild-cat, finds him asleep and changes him by making 
face round and shortening tail. When Wild-cat wakes he goes to creek to see 
himself and sees he has ugly face. He again traces Coyote and finds him sound 
asleep. He places him in hole in old burnt tree and leaves him entirely. Coyote 
wakes up, finds himself in tree and can not get down. He calls for birds with 
largest axe to help him.. Finally Woodpecker comes and succeeds in getting 
him down. Woodpecker’s axe is his nose. Coyote roams over prairie and has 
hard times to get something to eat. 


50. THE COYOTE, THE OPOSSUM, AND THE CROW. 


Coyote, Opossum, and Crow meet and ask one another meanings of their 
names. After hearing Opossum and Crow on their names, Coyote says he has 
four names, all of which are connected with war. Their names are nothing to 
his. They all add word “Wets” (man or bold) to their names. 


51. THE COYOTE AND THE FISH-HAWK. 


Coyote sees man fishing in creek by means of string-like thing on his head. 
Coyote asks man to give him same power. Man tells him he will have to look 
for place just like that and to follow instructions, or he will get into trouble. 
The thing was put on his head for line. Man says Coyote must never call for 
largest fish in water. Coyote finds place and catches all the fish he wants. There- 
after he follows that way of fishing, but food does not last long. Coyote wants 
to catch largest fish, that it may last longer. He calls for largest fish. It bites 
and he can not pull it out. It pulls on line and finally takes whole of scalp off 
Coyote’s head. Coyote cries and runs home. His family are afraid of him 
and run away. Coyote then dies. Man who gave Coyote power is Fish-Hawk. 


52. THE COYOTE AND THE BEAR. 


Coyote goes north before daylight and hears Bear coming, threatening to 
kill him. Coyote thinks he will play Bear trick and orders him to stop and not 
kill him until his father looks at him. Bear stays and Coyote rushes toward 
him, as Sun rises. Coyote tells him to make haste or he will kill Bear. Bear 
gives up all hopes of living, as he has tried to kill son of the Sun. Coyote pushes 
him back and Bear finally promises if he is not killed to go home with Coyote 
and do all the work and hunt to feed children. Coyote agrees and rides home on 
Bear’s back. Before reaching home Coyote orders Bear to hunt. Bear catches 
deer and takes it to Coyote’s place. Coyote makes Bear cook meat and burns 
him with stick when he. sits down to rest. Bear supports Coyote’s family for 
long while. Children ill-treat him and ride him about. Somebody tells Bear 
while hunting that Coyote is not child of Sun and has no powers. Bear returns 
without anything and kills whole family of Coyotes. 


348 ABSTRACTS. 


53. THE COYOTE AND THE SMALLEST SNAKE. 


Coyote on prairie finds little Snake Never-grows-larger. He teases it for 
being so small and asks it to show its teeth. Coyote shows his teeth and 
challenges Snake to bite. They bite each other and Coyote says he will go little 
way iand they shall call to each other. Coyote calls to Snake and Snake answers 
weakly. Coyote is called and answers pretty low. They keep calling one another 
and Coyote’s body begins to swell. At last Coyote answers very faintly and 
Snake very loud. Finally Coyote does not answer and Snake goes to him and 
finds him dead. 


54. THE COYOTE AND THE TURKEY. 


Coyote attacks Turkey. He pulls all his feathers off and puts them around 
Turkey's neck. He asks Turkey if he is honest, and when he says he is, Coyote 
sends him to Coyote’s wife to tell her to cook him and save Coyote wing. 
Turkey goes and tells wife that Coyote has sent him to copulate with her. She 
sends children out and Turkey notices arrow-sticks and sinew are hung up. 
Woman is treated turkey fashion and then Turkey tells her Coyote wants her 
to break arrow-sticks and cook sinew with them. Coyote returns home and 
after talk with wife goes out again in search of Turkey. He finds Turkey up in 
tree and tries to coax him down, without success. Coyote returns home and 
finds his children and wife starved to death, so he goes off and cries. 


55. THE DELUGE AND THE REPEOPLING OF THE EARTH. 


Formerly people had many supernatural powers. ‘There was no death and 
people remained old or young. Wife of chief brings forth four little monsters 
who have four feet. Many men wish them to be killed, but mother objects. 
Man who is prophet says their birth is sign that something dreadful is going 
to happen. Monsters play with other children and run over them. When older 
they eat buffalo robes, upturn tipis, and, finally, eat children. People try to 
kill them, but can not harm them. Monsters go to middle of village and stand 
together facing east, south, west, and north. They all grow together and grow 
higher and higher. Prophet is told to get tall cane and place between joints 
all kinds of seeds, grass, corn, etc., and then he is to select in pairs good 
animals. When everything ready he is to set up pole in ground and crawl into 
it. Prophet goes to man in morth, who says sign indicating dire things will 
be coming of animals from north to south. Animals appear and prophet crawls 
into cane. Flood comes and drowns bad people and all not in cane. Man in 
north sends with flood Turtle which gets under feet of monsters, who fall, one 
after another, toward four directions, and are drowned. Flood disappears, leav- | 
ing prophet and wife on high point. After long while prophet is told to go down 
mountain. He finds trees for their use. Things come out of cane and go from 
place to place. Woman goes to sleep. In morning Morning-Corn has grown: 
Voice gives them directions for use of things. They find grass-lodge and four 
corn stalks. Corn is to be always used, and if time comes that after planting 
corn something else comes up it will be sign of end of world. 


ABSTRACTS. — 349 
56, THE DELUGE AND THE REPEOPLING OF THE EARTH. 


Wife of head man gives birth to four children in form of a horse. Head 
man sends them away. The monsters grow and swallow people who go away 
from their feet. They are called Standing-in-the-Water and face four direc- 
tions. Chief sends errand man to northwest to see small man who has great 
powers. On return man says something will be done to destroy monsters; 
it will begin in north; fowls of air and animals will appear as clouds and water- 
monster (Turtle) will be sent to destroy four monsters. After a while fowls of 
air and animals come and flood is all over earth. ‘Turtle is under feet of four 
monsters and they fall, one after another, in four directions. Wind and Medi- 
cine-men are not destroyed. Wind dries up land and streams of foam remain as 
mountains. Wind sees something like rain falling in west. He goes and sees 
woman lying on ground. He goes again and notices that woman is pregnant. 
Next time child is lying on side of woman. He can hardly see woman and is 
taking child when some one above tells him to let it alone. Thinks it is child 
of Man-never-known-on-Farth. Wind makes another visit to place and takes 
child, which is girl, to place where are people. He calls mother of child Earth. 
Girl grows rapidly and takes man for husband. Boy is born and being first 
boy he has power to create things. He tells his parents not to do him wrong 
until he has completed all the things he wants to do. On returning once he tells 
them they have done him wrong and he goes east and becomes Morning-Star. 
Afterward girl is born and then boy, who, when they grow up, become husband 
and wife. Father goes toward northwest and becomes Clearness-after-Rain. 


THIRD PERIOD: THE PRESENT. 
57. THE WOMAN WHO MARRIED A STAR. 


Long while ago woman watching stars notices some are bright and some 
dim. She thinks bright stars are fine-looking young men and dim stars old men. 
She wishes she could have particular bright star for husband. When asleep 
she is with this man. In morning she is in strange place and old man sitting 
by fire. He wakes and tells her he is the bright star she selected. Dim stars 
are young men. Woman becomes wife of star. She is told not to move large 
rock lying on ground. She does so and sees earth below. She studies how to 
get down and cuts and braids soapweed into rope. She ties it to rock and lets 
herself down. When at end of rope she is near top of highest trees. Buzzard 
takes her down on his back and sees her safely home. Parents ask where she 
has been and she tells them about star and getting back. People since afraid to 
express desires about stars. 


58. THE MAN WHO WENT TO SPIRIT-LAND. 


There are two young men of same age who are playmates. When they 
are grown they become real friends and agree to die at same time. They are 
regarded as brothers. One of them marries. They go on war-path together and 
present each other with scalps they take. Boy baby is born to married friend 
and he stays at home, while unmarried friend goes on war-path and is killed. 


350 ABSTRACTS. 


Married friend mourns brother and goes on war-path to die. Mother of child 
dies and he goes to wife’s grave to mourn. While there he goes to sleep and has 
dream, in which his friend appears. Friend asks if he throught a great deal of 
his wife while she was living, and says he can live with her again if he wishes. 
Dead man tells him what he will have to go through to bring this about. He 
wakes up and friend is standing there. Friend touches his eyes and he finds 
himself in other world. They see lodges and come to place where dance is. 
Friend leaves live man, who sees ‘his wife dancing. As she comes around he 
throws mud balls at her and fourth time she leaves dance and goes home. 
He follows her and enters home. Father-in-law asks if: he has come to see 
his wife, and then tells him that next morning he must go buffalo hunting, kill 
buffalo and cut fat from shoulder, then he must kick buffalo and it will come to 
life again. Next morning he obeys his father-in-law’s instructions and brings 
fat to wife’s home. He is told to take bath and rub fat all over his body. He 
goes on buffalo hunt four mornings and then is told he can live with his wife 
same as on earth. Getting back home he is to send out war-party four times 
and bring scalp every time. During dances after return from war-path he is 
not to associate with other women. Ifthe does he can not keep wife, but afterward 
he can do as he pleases. He finds himself on ,earth with his wife. She tells 
him to have lodge cleaned and smoked with sage, and that his folks are not 
to weep when she enters. When place is ready, young man and wife go to home. 
Soon afterward young man goes with war-party, which returns with scalps. 
During dancing he remembers what he was told. He goes out with another 
war-party, which is victorious. He places scalp where wife's dead people can 
get it and goes with wife to dance. Long after, young man sends out another 
war-party. They return home victorious and young man offers scalp to wife’s 
dead parents. He goes to dance and wife is not there. He meets woman who 
has courted him and stays nearly all night with her. His wife knows what he 
has done and leaves him permanently while he is asleep and returns to her 
dead people. He goes to her grave, but no one appears to him. He tells people 
that he has been in another world and that those who die in battle are happier 
than those who die of sickness. Man lives long afterward, but never finds out 
about his wife again. 


59. THE MAN WHO RESCUED HIS WIFE FROM SPIRIT-LAND. 


Two boys become friends and go to battle together. In their homes they 
are considered brothers. One gets married. Other boy goes on war-path by him- 
self and dies in battle, that he may cease to think of friend. Married man’s 
wife dies, leaving him child. He mourns continually for loss of wife and friend. 
While at wife’s grave he falls asleep and dreams of friend. He wakes and sees 
friend. They go together to large village and enter dance place. Friend instructs 
him what to do, and he throws four mud balls at wife while dancing and follows 
her to her father’s lodge, as in No. 58. Father asks him many questions and 
then tells him he must go on horse and kill buffalo, take fat from hump and kick 
buffalo on back and tell it to go. He does so and delivers fat to father-in-law. 
Man is to take sweat bath, bathe his body in incense, and rub fat over him every 
day. At end of four days man is told to take wife. He is instructed to go on 
war-path and secure four scalps. On return home wife directs him to have 


ABSTRACTS. 351 


grass-lodge cleaned and smoked before she enters. Next day young man gets 
up war-party, who takes rawhide, in place of drum, and sings songs. ‘They 
obtain scalps and on return home they dance. Young man soon goes on another 
war-party. He has war bundle given him by his wife’s dead relatives. They 
again return victorious and young man puts scalp away. At night, thinking his 
wife will not know, he dances with another woman and stays with her all night. 
When he goes back home his wife is gone. He mourns again, but no one 
appears to him. 


60. THE CRIPPLE WHO DISOBEYED THE GODS. 


Small crippled boy has notion of visiting Village-on-Hill-side to get powers. 
He goes and fasts on mountain-top. He hears stars talk about him and he 
plays to stars and animal gods to help him to become a famous and better-looking 
man. This continues three days, and early on fourth day two men come who 
take him into large room inside of mountain. He sees many men. Head man 
touches his eyes and he sees all sorts of beasts and fowls of air. ‘They wear 
robes of all colors. There are all kinds of Coyotes, Raven, and Crow, who 
bring him there and ask other men to make haste and do for him. Bear gives 
him power to have good hearing, to send out war-parties, and to cure sick 
people. Each gives him powers and presents. He is then told to return home 
and to wear everything he has, but to arrive at home at night, so that no one 
will see him or know who he is, and that he is not to have intercourse with 
women. He starts home and looks into water and sees he is handsome. He 
begins to think whom he shall choose as wife. He decides to enter village by 
daylight and make himself known. He watches people playing games, especially 
woman’s double-ball game. When he arrives at place he goes in middle of crowd 
and tells them who he is, and where he has been since he disappeared. He reaches 
home and tells his people. At night crowds of men go to see him and many 
women stand outside to marry him, but are refused entrance. Certain woman 
comes and goes right to bed with him. After he has gone to sleep all his powers 
are taken from him. He becomes ugly as at first. 





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